Strangers of Glory: Contingency
by A. Mitsuni
Summary: Every year, to honor the legendary Five Heroic Swordsman of the past, a Free-for-All Tournament is held in the biggest modernized hub in the land. But as two rival battle schools prepare for the upcoming competition, malevolence lurks within the shadows, ready to strike. Can the city be saved? [Modern High School AU]
1. Chapter One: Resfeber

**Chapter One: **Resfeber

* * *

**Resfeber**: (Swedish) (n.) _the restless race of the traveler's heart before the journey begins, when anxiety and anticipation are tangled together._

* * *

_Legend says that when the sky and stars above were as young as the lands and oceans below, violence and bloodshed broke out among the fractured, war torn kingdoms. Men of the same kind fought against each other in a seemingly endless conflict. Friends pitted against friends, brothers against brothers; only the hope of honor, which masked the lust for power, fueled each warrior and each ruler. _

_When the prospect of peace was dwindling at near extinction, a dark mage, with only malice and hatred in his heart, summoned what would be known as Pandora's Box and unleashing a doomed future upon the land. Even the most mightiest mercenaries were no match against these horrific beasts, who invaded the vast land and feasted upon the young and innocent. _

_At last, when all hope seemed lost, the warring kingdoms decided once and for all to push aside their differences unite as one to bring together their strongest and most heroic champion to bring down these monsters. For each kingdom had birthed a mighty weapon, forged with the peoples' hope and will for a future, and only the most courageous and pure hero could possess the power to wield such a weapon. These heroes, united together with their people's determination and strength by their side, were able to seal away these creatures of darkness and restore good across the land. _

_Good had triumphed over evil, and the now saved Earthanian kingdoms agreed begin talks of peace and future alliances. And yet...when it came time to honor the warriors who so heroically prevented an oncoming apocalypse, there was no one to be found. _

_The brave swordsmen and the villainous mage simply vanished without a trace, as no record shown what had became of legendary heroes and foe. In fact...no one knows what happened at the last battle or when and where it took place. Some folks began to doubt if the climactic showdown even happened._

_While they may have been forgotten over the centuries, their tale of heroism lives on in the present, and even few believed that destiny will one day bring the mage and the swordsmen together for one final battle. _

* * *

"Bedding...and...sheets...there! All done!"

The brunette put down the black marker and let out a contented sigh after marking up the side of a cardboard box. She took a moment to look around herself, only to realize that with all of her belongings packed up and in the moving truck, her now empty bedroom seemed much bigger.

"Daisy!" a voice rang from outside the hall. "Are you still using your black sharpie? I just have...a few more boxes to label, and mine just died!"

"Sure thing!" After getting up and stretching her stiff muscles, Daisy took the last box in her room under one arm and pocketed the marker before proceeding out of the room. The brown-haired princess had dreaded all summer of the day she needed to up her entire bedroom for the new school year, but after a near eight grueling hours of unfolding boxes, reorganizing her wardrobe, shuffling around her personal items, and untangling half a dozen rolls of shipping tape, Daisy felt a wave of relief and accomplishment after finishing the near impossible job.

Speaking of cousin...

"Peach?" Daisy peered into the lavender-tiled bathroom down the hall but no luck. She could have sworn she heard Peach in here.

"I'm over here...!" Her cousin's voice echoed again, this time from the bottom floor. Daisy looked down below and saw Peach on the floor, surrounded by a few half-full boxes, stacks of leftover cardboard, and newspaper scraps. Her lone dried up marker was discarded across the floor.

"Here, throw it," Peach opened her palm without looking up, then grinned when she caught it. "Thanks."

"Almost done?" Daisy set down her box and leaned against the wooden banister. "I wanna get dinner after we lock up the truck for the night."

"Ah, hmmm..." Peach was caught mid-thought while taping shut a box. "I just have these last few dishes to box up, and I think I finish it all up in a few."

She looks up again. "Are you really hungry right now?"

"I am, but I can wait," Daisy began making her way down the spiral staircase. "Here, let me help. It'll make things faster."

"Thank you," Peach, grateful for the extra hand, tossed Daisy the nearest tape gun and scooted an opened box with her foot. "We can stop by Starbeans Café afterwards for a bite. How does that sound?" (1)

Daisy nodded to her suggestion. "Whenever I pack stuff, I always forget how much crap I have," she half-joked before taking a seat on the floor with Peach. The blonde, still wrapping glassware with paper, giggled and nodded in agreement.

Soon enough comfortable quietness eased between the two as they stuffed and packed away the last of their dishes and utensils, crinkling newspaper and squeaky tape guns faded in and out.

The last few years, Daisy spent her summer vacations with Peach and her family while her parents spent their summer traveling to negotiate business on the behalf of the Sarasa-land Principality. But unlike the last few years of moving back to her home to be privately tutored, Daisy was now officially accepted by the Iwata Academy this fall, as her last bit of paperwork finally turned in last month. The prospect of attending a major school for the first time in the big city was both exciting and intimidating for Daisy, but knowing that her dear cousins would be there to help her out eased her troubles.

The ruling king and queen of Mushroom Kingdom have been gone since last month to attend to city council matters, and Peach's older sister, Rose, had already moved back in their shared duplex at school last weekend. This had left the two princesses alone at the family vacation beach house for the final bit of summer with Peach's loyal servant, Toad, checking on them every now and then. While Peach and Daisy's living arrangement was neither lonely nor troublesome, it was quite boring and restless to live in such a spacious house together (much too big for only two people, as noted by Daisy) with summer dwindling by the last weeks of August.

The day they both finally began packing their things for the new school year was still a daunting task, but to Peach, it served as a refreshing change in pace to their mundane living.

"...and...there! All done!" the blonde one rose to her feet and wiped her brow. "The last box is ready to go. See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Pfft, you're tellin' me," Daisy grumbled and wiped her hands on her jeans with a sigh. "We got to load all these up before we go. _And then tomorrow,_ we'll have to _drive_ all the way over _and then _unpack everythin _-_"

"Shush you," Peach smiled and playfully poked Daisy on the cheek, instantly breaking her train of thought.

"First off, you're not even driving, Toad is! Second, we'll worry all about that when we get to it," Peach laughs with her hands on her hips. "For now, let's celebrate this victory with dinner, my treat."

Daisy's stomach, to her relief, silently agreed. "Okay." After all, the thought of food and the giddiness of a blossoming adventure to the big city cured her grumpy mood.

* * *

A hot salted caramel mocha, served on a baby blue porcelain tea set and cinnamon shortbread cookies on the side.

Small hints of caramel syrup and roasted chuckle beans lightly tapped at her nose. (2) Rose slowly breathed in the aroma before admiring the presentation and handiwork of her drink. And she of all people was not one to disregard the artistic handiwork it takes to make a fine cup of espresso. Even the latte foam was smooth as silk without a single flaw in sight.

The soothing jazz on the radio blended with footsteps on wooden floor and the blur of casual conversations at every table. Bits of the afternoon news report blared in and out of the lobby like a disjointed pattern.

_" - and Watch, a longtime veteran of the main tournament, was last seen…" _

Nonetheless, the chaotic, but relaxing atmosphere did not disturb Rose from enjoying her freshly brewed coffee after an afternoon read by the fireplace. Classes didn't begin for another week, but Rose wanted to make sure to jump start her textbook reading for Advanced Astronomy class before then.

_'There's no need to rush for now…'_ Rose heard a faint, soft voice underneath the table.

Rose glanced under the table to find her golden furred cat, Luma, now awake after a small nap by her feet. Luma's paws on Rose's lap were definitely meant play time now and study later. And with a smile, Rose set her porcelain teacup down and lifted Luma into her arms. She had gotten quite through her reading, so she could afford taking a small break.

Her textbook closed and Luma occupying her lap, Rose gazed out the window and noticed it was unseasonably cool and rainy for August. The city folk outside the coffee shop quickly scurried underneath any nearby shelter from the downpour. Those luckily prepared with an umbrella leisurely made their way down the sidewalk and avoided puddles pooling by the curb. Large drops of rain trailed down the cafe window sill.

_" - the press release by the Chief Director confirms the victim missing…"_

Although Rose had enjoyed rainy days, she began to miss the sunny, hot weather back at the beach house. She began to wonder what the girls were up to. The elder princess smirked, imagining Peach and Daisy soaking up the last drop of summer before packing up the moving truck. She pictured Daisy would whine about all the hard work while Peach teased her younger cousin by sticking tape on the back of her head.

_" - as told by investigators, there seems to be no physical evidence of a struggle…"_

But now she remembers that her little girls aren't so little anymore. It was hard for her to believe that her younger sister and cousin were going to be with her at the Academy this year. And that this year…was her last year before graduation.

Perhaps…now it was time...

_" - city's police department is still ongoing the investigation..." _

_'No.'_ Rose shook her head to firmly ground her resolve. No matter, the girls were still young and innocent. There was still time left.

_'A little longer. Not yet.'_

* * *

"Here ya' go kid, Fils-Aime. Dat'll be-a 26 gold, flat."

The taxi cab came to a screeching halt next to the curb, which would have sent the passenger flying into the dashboard if it wasn't for his seat belt. He quickly undid his seat buckle and reached into his pocket to fish out his change.

"Thanks," the man in the back seat murmured under his hooded sweater. Unlike the mustached driver, he wanted to keep his manners in check for first impressions.

"Don't let the door hit ya' on your way out. Now scram!" The stout driver huffed over the loud 90's grunge radio and gruffly snatched up the gold. His retort fell on deaf ears, as the passenger was already out of the cab and taking his luggage out of the trunk. Not wasting a second after he shut the trunk, the taxi barreled forward back onto the street, nearly running over a stray black cat on the sidewalk and leaving the poor man stranded in a cloud of smoke and fumes.

The stranger, shortly after clearing out his lungs, decided not bothering to give the disgruntled driver another thought and turned around to face the school gates. Once passed the brick wall and gated entrance, the campus grounds gave way to the wide and lush field and school buildings on all sides, some baring an archaic resemblance and others were refreshingly remodeled. He mentally noted to take a better look at the buildings and where his classes were during the campus tour.

The weather had slowed down to a gentle sprinkle with the sun peeking through the clouds; heavy smell of rain still lingered in the air. He glanced through the open gates to see a crowd of new students filing down the stone pathway due north, some whom began sneaking past the shrubbery and cutting through the grassy lawn and sparsely arranged trees. At the centre of the rock intersecting paths laid a marble fountain with spherical shape split in four sections as the centerpiece, clear water spewing from the top. (3)

At last, merely a few feet ahead of him was a large steel-hardened sign engraved with only one thing.

**"Fils-Aime Battalion School: Official Tournament Training School &amp; Combat Facility." **

The man grinned underneath his hood and readjusted the strap of his drawstring bag on his shoulder, drinking in the sight of what was the new chapter in his life. Now realizing that there were no longer any obstacles in his way, figuratively and literally, the hooded athlete hurried down the stone path and followed the pack of students down towards registration at the dormitory buildings.

He vaguely heard someone sarcastically shout, "Nice sweater!" from a distance, but took no heed. Whenever there was a goal or objective in mind, he completely zones out and nearly blocks out everything else. For today, his main priority was getting to the student commons to get signed into his dorm room and unpacking his things before evening settled in. He did have a few hours to spare as he got to the school campus earlier than expected, but there was still getting through the large mass of new students now crowding in the lobby area.

The corners of his mouth twitched upwards as a thought crossed his mind. Hopefully, if he had some time left, he could try and hunt down a _certain_ someone he was looking forward to reunite with again. After all, it has been a couple months since...

"I can help whoever's next in line!"

His thoughts were quickly interrupted when a high pitched voice called him over at the self-made registration booth. Various clipboards, pens, and school sponsored lanyards littered the tops of the fold-out tables. Behind one sat a perky, blonde girl in curly pigtails who enthusiastically waved him over. She, similarly to the other orientation leaders, wore a bright blue t-shirt that spelled out the school's name and logo on the front and a "LOST OR CONFUSED? I CAN HELP!" in bold large print on the back.

"Omigosh, I _love_ your sweatshirt," she half-gasped, half-squealed at high pitch. "Pink is my favorite color! Well, next to yellow, of course."

"Erm - "

"Oh, right! Ugh, how silly of me! I almost forgot to introduce myself!" She stood up straight and cleared her throat before eagerly shaking the hand in front of her. "I'm Lissa of Ylisse, and if I can get a name from you, I'll getcha' all signed in and ready to go!"

He took down his hood with his hands wrapped in athletic tape to reveal a journey-worn face and cropped, jet black hair.

"Name's Mac. Little Mac."

* * *

Marth turned the key in the lock before pushing open the glass door with his back. His hands were full with a small box full of brand new notepads, pencils, pens, and various supplies for the new student government office, as the newly elected student president took it upon himself to move all the old school supplies since the other members of government were still on vacation. Rose had lent an extra hand with the moving earlier this morning, but shortly left campus after lunch to study.

After setting down the last package of printer paper by the copying machine, he let out a contented sigh and leaned against the edge of said table with his back to the door. Fortunately for him, school maintenance had already moved the old office desks, chairs, bookshelves, and various pieces of furniture and potted houseplants. And an added bonus, their old oval oak conference table was replaced with a new, sleeker cherry-wood one during the summer.

"I guess that's that for tonight," he murmured to himself.

Marth glanced out at the large window panes that lined the left side of the office. The view of the Iwata campus below glistened as the sunset was over behind the trees outside and the afternoon grey skies blew towards the east. Today had quite the peculiar weather, he thought to himself before fiddling with the wobbling back-end of an office chair. Marth was very grateful for the headmaster's courteous donation of a new table, but if he were to be truthful only to himself, he would have preferred replacing the worn-down chairs instead. But he didn't dwell on it for long, as he didn't feel he had any more right to complain about the kind gesture.

After going through his mental checklist, he was quite pleased with getting through as many errands as he could, but there was still work to be done before the start of the school year. In fact, he still needed to tackle his welcoming speech for freshman orientation week tonight and figure this year's agenda and goals by the first week of school.

But while most other students who would've caved under pressure, Marth felt a sense of exhilaration and pride under such demands. As cheesy as it sounded, he couldn't help but feel a brimming gaiety for the new school year fill his chest. The Altean lived for and thrived on taking on leadership and the feeling of others' looking up to him. A perfect fit for this year's student body president, as many of his friends would say.

After all, those were the characteristics he strove for as future king of the United Archanea.

"This is it, huh?"

There was slight whine of the glass door opening and Marth whirled around only to immediately smile upon seeing school secretary. "Zelda!"

He hopped to his feet and gave his friend a quick hug. "It's been so long! How was your summer? I...thought you weren't arriving until next week?"

"Hyrule is...well..." Zelda gave a mirthful smile and shrugged. "I love my home and my parents, but I think we both mutually agreed it was time for me to come back here."

Marth, curious at what she meant, decided to keep it to himself when she changed the subject.

"Huh...it's a lot bigger than I thought it would be," the honey blonde paused to get a good look around the new layout of the room. She wiped the tabletop with her fingers and gazed on the white washed walls. Most of the furniture had been put in their proper places, but some of the frames of typical stock photography leaned against the walls, waiting to be hung up later this week.

"We'll probably have to figure out something to do with that big blank spot next to the white board..."

"Any ideas?" Marth, arms crossed, leaned against the wall.

"Not yet, but me and Peach'll think of somethi - " Zelda paused when she stumbled upon an open box of rolled up posters on the table. After a quick unravel, she gave Marth a bemused look.

"...really?"

Marth couldn't help but chuckle. "Okay, so I found all those all in storage and I thought they were really hilarious. Apparently they haven't been used in years and, uh..." he unrolled one of the motivational posters out that read 'Confidence!' on the front with a cartoon dog on the front giving a thumbs up. "I can see why now."

"Oh...my Gods," Zelda had to keep herself from laughing out loud in when she pulled up another poster, but this time with small child with his arms flexed and in large letters read 'Child Obesity!' on top. "We _have_ to have this in your office. No exceptions."

"No!" Marth's horrified face made Zelda burst out. "Oh hey, speaking of which, you haven't seen it yet, have you? Come over!"

He quickly led the Hylian back to the side room on the left side of the doorway. His own office itself was much smaller than the conference room, but was still roomier in comparison to the previous presidential office. After switching on the light, there laid a modern black desk with a green glass lamp and a few small boxes on top. Zelda's eyes immediately latched onto the new leather chair behind the desk.

"_You_ got a new chair but we don't?" she asked, taking the opportunity to sit and feel it out.

"No, no," Marth assured. "I actually had to bring this one from home. No way would the school give me this great of a chair. Not in my lifetime at least."

Navy blue curtains hung low on the windows, matching the rug underneath his desk. Marth reminded himself that he needed to thank Elice for giving his office a little more of a homey touch. (4) Aside from the mounted shelves that held a few of his personal trinkets and awards, the walls were still empty. He was hoping to install a small corkboard for notes and reminders today, but the project will have to be pushed back to the morning.

"Of course," she rolled her eyes teasingly. "I shouldn't have been surprised to see Mister Busy-body over here before orientation. I hope you were at least able to relax during break."

"Actually...I was able to go on a camping with Elice and my parents back in July," he recalled fondly and leaned on the doorway. "Was really surprised that they got time off from their never-ending schedule. What about you?"

"Hm..." Zelda looked up to the ceiling in thought. "Got to travel around smaller villages in the south and got to meet with our people. It's always an eye-opener when I go out to the country and think how different life is compared to the city. It's always more peaceful and relaxing..."

She sighed and looked down at her hands, choosing her words carefully. "My...parents keep bringing up talks about opening a trade port with the Gerudo Territory but I...I'm not so sure about that..." (5)

Marth frowned, not sure whether or not she would want to hear his input. He knew Zelda was merely muting her true opinion, and having known her family and other royal families for many years, it was always tough to hear when trouble brewed in one's home kingdom.

Before he could say anything, a buzzing vibration came from his back pocket, alerting the two. The blue-haired teen checked his smart phone to see an incoming call from, unexpectedly, his childhood friend Roy.

"Ah..."

"I actually need to get going," Zelda took that as her cue to leave. She got up from the room and grabbed her bag she set down next to the conference table. "I got lots of unpacking to get through today and was only going to stop by to check the new office real quick."

"Oh, uh," he called out to Zelda before she headed out the door. "If you're here already, I still need to meet with you sometime this week to discuss freshman orientation and our schedule for September. Are you free tomorrow?"

"I should be all settled in by tomorrow morning. I'll send you a text - I'm at my old place down in Blather's hall again, so you know where to go." (6)

And with that, she was gone.

It took a second for Marth to realize that his phone was still ringing, which he managed to answer the call before it went to his voice mail.

"Hello?" He grabbed his school blazer and lanyard from the table before shutting the light and locking up the office. "...Roy? Is that you? ...hey man, how have you been...? I know, I know, sorry I haven't called in a while, been real busy at Iwata since last week..."

His lone footsteps faded down the hall, the echo lingering.

"Yeah...okay...you got good news? What's up…?"

Marth didn't notice the growing shadow that was looming behind him in the distance.

* * *

Pure darkness.

Not even a shred of light could pierce the empty void. There was nothing except a dark blackness everywhere, consuming at every corner and every spot. No solid ground below or sky above. Just sheer pitch black night.

A figure stands at the centerfold. A humanoid of a luminescent tinge, dwarfed by the sheer size of the surrounding emptiness.

There he stood in silence.

Waiting.

* * *

**To be continued… **

* * *

**Author's Note: **

Hello and thank you for taking the time to read my story! The first chapter is a bit long but I'm hoping the next few will be a little shorter (no promises though!) I've had this idea for an SSB fiction for a while now and finally decided to just go do it, haha. By the way, that 'Child Obesity!' poster actually exists! I've seen it on the window of a local karate dojo – no joke!

I won't reveal much of the story just yet, but I'll give some brief information of the setting: There are various kingdoms and continents on the given planet, Earthania, and the biggest modern city-state, Nintendo-Land, is a neutral global center where kings, lords, and leaders can peacefully negotiate and handle business matters. This city also serves as a bustling hub, and home to the internationally renowned tournament, "Super Smash Brothers Fighting Tournament," held every year. Among many of the battle schools that train their best and brightest competitors, two of the well known schools in the city are **Fils-Aime Battalion School** and **Iwata Academy of Special Arts**.

Here, we'll see the many adventures students will undergo before the big tournament, all while _someone_ or _something_ is biding their time. Who is this mysterious being and what are their intentions? Why is Rosalina known as Rose instead? What is Roy up to? We'll just have to wait and see!

This is a Modern Day AU, with a hybrid High School/University twist. I have a main cast in mind, but I'll try to include as many cameos of different smash characters - there are a LOT after all! I will include _all_ characters from _all _the Smash games, including ones that aren't in the SSB4 (e.g. Roy, Solid Snake, Ice Climbers, etc.), as well as a select few side characters from various games. Special mention to _BabyGurl278_, whose fiction trilogy, "Power of the Elements" (which is sadly discontinued) has inspired me to write my own story.

There will be pairings, but I will reveal them in time – romance is part of the story, but I'll try not to focus so much on that aspect. I did numerous amounts of research on game lore and tried my best to keep everyone in-character, as their game lore impacts the story and make up the world they live in now. Of course, I'm not infallible (and neither are the wikis I use), so if there is a mistake, let me know?

I'd love to have a steady schedule of updates but again, busy busy life happens so we'll see what I can do. For now, I'll try for at least updating once a month and keep you posted for any changes.

This story is the first installment to a trilogy I had in mind, but it depends how things go. The first 2-3 chapters will act as a **pilot** – if enough people like my story and want me to continue, I will. But if it's clear that there is no interest or if my story is badly received (which is okay!), I will simply discontinue my story and delete my account. This is sort of an experiment for me, so we'll see how things go from now on.

As a new writer, I'd love to hear some feedback! If you want me to keep writing, click that review button and let me know!

\- **A. Mitsuni**

* * *

**Index:**  


(1) The Starbeans Café is a coffee house in _Mario &amp; Luigi: Superstar Saga_ owned by Professor E. Gadd. The name is based off of the real life Starbucks, and so is the business. There are many Starbeans Cafés all over the world, serving their brand name coffee and baked goods.

(2) Chuckle beans are one of the coffee beans used in Starbeans Café. 25 chuckle beans boosts speed by 4.

(3) Sculpture is modeled after the Super Smash Brother's icon, the Smash Ball.

(4) Elice is Marth's older sister and ally from _Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi_, _Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem_, and the remakes. In Nintendo-Land city, she serves as an assistant headmaster and can substitute the role if the headmaster is absent.

(5) The Gerudo tribe is a race of humans in the _Legend of Zelda_ franchise. Due to a biological quirk, the race consists almost solely of females. A single male Gerudo is born into the tribe every hundred years, which happens to be Ganondorf, the only male Gerudo to appear in the games.

(6) Blathers is the curator for the museum from _Animal Crossing_ series. In Nintendo-Land city, Blathers is honored due to his many academic contributions to the Iwata Academy, thus naming a branch of student duplexes after himself. By tradition, other notable villagers who also contributed to Iwata or Fils-Aime have school buildings named after them.

**EDIT: **Included index notes. Fixed wording. Formatting. More wording. Grammar.


	2. Chapter Two: Convivencia

**Chapter Two:** Convivencia

* * *

**Convivencia:** (Portuguese) (n.) _"living together" in the sense of living or working closely with other people with whom you share feelings, desires, or a common purpose._

* * *

_"The head of the Justice Force is now releasing a statement warning civilians to avoid being out alone at night -"_

The news report was suddenly cut short, as Samus reached for the remote and shut the TV off. Only the sound of urban life and mild traffic outside her window could be heard in her small studio. The rain stopped and the sun was barely cracking through the clouds.

The blonde sighed and tucked her knees under her chin. Her long hair was propped on top of a towel on her shoulders, as it was still damp from the shower she took a few minutes ago. The air conditioning in her living room was cool enough to prick at her pale skin, but she ignored the chill crawling up her arms.

"Hmm..." she murmured softly to herself. But instead of easing into the trap of melancholy or laziness, she sat up straight and rested her hands in her lap, legs crossed and mind at ease.

Her thoughts started to slow down; all while she began isolate herself from the outside world. Whenever Samus got the chance, she mediated alone and let herself be one with the quietness. She controlled her breathing and steadied her pace. She took it upon herself to follow Trainer's advice and follow through in relaxation exercises.

Deep breathe in. Breathe out.

Eyes closed.

Alone.

Focused.

In.

And out.

_Silence. _

**"Bap...bap...bap-bap-bap-bap...!" **(1)

The sound of a familiar 8-bit jingle tore through the air like paper, abruptly halting Samus's meditation. She softly groaned soon after fluttering her eyes open before resigning her afternoon meditation for today. She reached for her phone on the coffee table and after thumbing through her notifications, she saw a new snapchat message open up.

_'Over at Brewster's, don't be such a loner and come over already!'_ (2)

Captain Falcon, a tall, muscular man in a red helmet with a solid visor, was at the front of the selfie while grinning and holding up a pint of frothy beer. Behind him on a bar stool sat a slightly older man, Snake, who wore a five o'clock shadow with his brown headband and his blueish-gray tight suit. He was nursing what appeared to be a chilled bottle of beer with his meal and sent the camera, or specifically the one taking the photo, a disgruntled look. Just from casual observation, the two looked like they just finished a lengthy mission before getting dinner, as both men still wore their official black Justice Force vests with their uniform looking freshly worn.

She took a moment to view the picture before allowing the auto-deletion. At first glance, the lone bounty hunter was very much one keen to keep her distance from everyone and was content living out on her own. Many picked up that she had trouble socializing or interacting with others, but Samus was not one to get hung up on those sort of issues. And yet somehow, two unlikely people – one of whom is the polar-opposite of Samus in terms of personality – managed to win over her respect and trust. Even after Falcon and Snake's graduation from Fils-Aime and their employment to the city's Justice Force soon after, the trio still managed to keep in touch.

While Samus appreciated her two friends looking out for her and inviting her for dinner, they also mutually knew that she needed time and space alone. Captain Falcon, as boisterous and relentless he is, knew when to back off. Snake, on the other hand, understood Samus's silent nature and accepted whatever choice she made without argument.

For now, she decided to decline their invite to dinner – even after constant training and sparring sessions during the summer, she still wasn't strong enough to achieve her true goal, and this year she did not want to grow complacent. Sam knew that if she left the invitation unanswered, her good friends would understand, but the better side of her decided to send out a text to let them know.

_'Sorry, next time.' _

* * *

"...is Little your first name?" Little Mac inwardly sweat dropped as Lissa looked puzzled behind the clipboard.

"Just look up Mac."

Lissa scanned the first few pages, murmuring to herself. "Karissa...Kirby...Lara...Link...Meta Kni - oop, wait...here it is!" She quickly check-marked next to his name before gathering a packet of paper and clipping it to a clipboard. (3)

"We just got a few waivers and disclosures we need you to sign real quick…" the blonde pointed at various spots on each sheet. "…here, here, and here before I give you your stuff. Oh, and write your jacket size here, too."

Once Little Mac signed and cleared all the forms, Lissa quickly took back the paperwork and shuffled into the back room behind the table. No sooner than when she left, Lissa returned with a thick plastic-wrapped package with what appeared to be a black jacket folded inside, along with a few things underneath it.

"Here is your new school uniform. You get your first set of three now, and an extra two sent to your dorm by the new semester," she explained. "If you need any extras, you can order some from the Student Store, but you'll have to pay it with your own gold."

"And on the back," she flips the pack over to point to the other items inside. "Is a complimentary lanyard, your lapel pin, your room card key, a map of the campus, and a schedule for Freshmen Orientation. And this thingy over here," pointing at the label on top. "Is your assigned dorm building and room number."

She handed over the packet back to Little Mac before momentarily glancing down at a note card in her hand and reading aloud.

"This concludes your sign in and registration. We hope your long travels had – er, have been well and your welcome well received," Little Mac looked on amused at her somewhat flattened voice. "Fils-Aime Battle School applauds you for your valiant decision to join us this year. Along with your school jacket, you have – blah, blah, blah, I already went over that..."

The energetic blonde skimmed over the rest of the note card to look for anything else she missed.

"Oh! Don't forget, there is a barbeque out by the soccer field at 7," Lissa looked up and cheekily poked at boxer's chest. "You should come tonight! I'll be there, just so you know."

"Uh...I'll try," Little Mac sheepishly scratched the back of his head. Truth be told, he was going to skip the rest of the orientation events tonight as he had something else to do in mind. Nonetheless, he didn't want to be rude.

"Oh, by the way, do you know where the Wolfgang Dorm Building is?" Lissa caught Mac's arm before he turned to leave. "I just want to make sure you know how to get to your room before you go."

"Ah, it's fine, I think I can figure it out from here..."

"Nonsense!" she pushed on and didn't hesitate to firmly grab his wrist, despite Little Mac's silent protests. "Technically, I can't leave my post here in the lobby, but I know exactly who can get you there!"

The two cut through the lines and crowded parts of the lobby with Lissa's curled pigtails bobbing up and down. Soon enough, she had led him to another table off to the side in an empty corner. Behind the bare booth was a snoozing orientation volunteer with his chair leaning back, his feet propped up on top and his long sword secured on his lap.

Even though he was sitting, Little Mac could tell that the swordsman was much taller than himself. The small scars left on his arms and parts of his face were a good indication that the man was quite the experienced fighter.

"Lon'qu!" Lissa sang out excitedly. (4)

No response. Not even a slight hitch of breath.

"Lon'qu!" she said more loudly and closer to him, but the sleeping man was yet to be woken. While most others would have left the napping man alone by that point, Lissa was not one to back down.

She impulsively grabbed a paper brochure lying nearby, rolled it up, and quickly swatted Lon'qu on the face.

"Wake up, mister!"

Lon'qu was startled awake, then instantly flinched at how close she was standing next to him.

"G-guh…!" His surprised reaction caused him to nearly fall out of his chair and drop his weapon on to the ground. Little Mac bit his lip and turned away, trying his best cover his laugh by coughing, but Lissa didn't bother hiding her giggles at his outburst.

"Don't...touch me," he spoke lowly as his face heated in frustration. Lissa, on the other hand, put up a brave front and tried her best to not look phased.

"Take him to Wolfgang Building," she demanded with her hands on her hips, before quickly adding, "...please."

Lon'qu turned to look at Little Mac, who gave him a helpless shrug, then turned back to Lissa.

"I'm on break."

"You've been on break the last hour," Lissa whined and stomped her foot impatiently. "And I can't leave until 5:30! C'mon, you're not even being super nice and welcoming to the new students...! Please? Pretty please...?"

"..."

Lon'qu kept his blank stare as Lissa put on her best puppy eyes and quivering pout. Soon enough, the dark haired volunteer gave a resigned sigh and picked up his scabbard.

"...fine," he grunted, motioning Little Mac to follow him. Mac nodded and grabbed the rest of his luggage.

"Yes!" Lissa pumped her fist in victory. The blonde excitedly waved the two boys off before running back to her table. "Thanks Lon'qu! You're the best! Oh! And it was nice meeting you, Little Mac!"

* * *

By the time the two left the building, the sun was set low on the horizon with an hour or so left of daylight. The skies were much clearer than earlier, and students, both new and returning were now seen walking around campus enjoying the warmer weather. A few students laid out on the green with a book or tablet in hand, while a small group played a game of Frisbee on the other side of the field. Another group of girls gathered in front of the sculpture, excitedly reunited after a summer apart. Cars still filed in front of the Student Commons, as a few latecomers were just now arriving on campus for registration.

"Erm...sorry about that," the boxer broke the silence between the duo a few minutes after leaving the lobby. "I told her she didn't need to, but she insisted."

"It's fine," Lon'qu waved it off. "Lissa would've bothered me to do some other trivial thing sooner or later."

Little Mac kept up with Lon'qu fast walking pace, despite the carrying his heavy gear and baggage. It didn't take much to notice that Lon'qu was not much of a talker.

"So..." Little Mac was unsure whether or not to keep carrying the conversation on. "What classes do you have this year?"

"I actually don't go here."

"Really?" That caught Little Mac off guard. If they weren't attending here, then...?

"Like me and Lissa, most of the orientation leaders and volunteers are actually from Iwata Academy."

"Iwata...?"

"Take it you're new to the city," Lon'qu continued. "Iwata Academy is one of the top battle schools in Nintendo-Land, on par with Fils-Aime. Your school requires all students to take a certain amount of missions in the city to graduate. Likewise, same deal with Iwata, except we do more volunteer hours and charity work instead of missions. Almost every year, Fils-Aime takes in volunteers from Iwata for orientation. This year, no different."

Little Mac paused to digest in the information. "How's Iwata any different than Fils-Aime?"

"Fils-Aime is much bigger and more dedicated to train competitors for the tournament while Iwata is smaller and tends to take in the wealthier aristocratic crowd. The academy focuses solely on educating members of royalty and future leaders from various continents so students are ready to take on the responsibility of running their people when ready, though they still do take in physical training and combat in account. "

"Are you...?"

"Not royalty," Lon'qu curtly answered. "I'm a bit of a special case, but that's a different story."

A long silence filled the air again, only this time Little Mac decided to end the conversation. He decided to take time to good view his surroundings and get familiar with the campus instead, mapping out what route would be good to take during his morning runs.

"We're here," Lon'qu finally announced after a few minutes of quiet walking. They stopped at the front of a rustic brick building, about three stories high and extended towards the back. At the front entrance were a set of stairs leading to two glass push doors. As the two got closer, they passed a wooden sign, showing the campus map and the community cork board. At a passing glance, Mac noticed that the board was filled with various advertisements and events from the summer.

"What's your room number?" Lon'qu asked him once inside the main lounge area. While the Wolfgang lounge was much smaller than the Student Commons lobby, it was a quaint comfortable area for those who inhabit the dorm building. There, a lone man in green napped on one of the old leather couches while a boy in a red shirt with the number '1' on it was on his phone by the windows. At the far right, two girls were chatting idly by the electric fireplace.

"Ah, C-32," Little Mac read aloud the stickered label after fumbling for his pack.

"C floor is the 3rd floor," Lon'qu pointed to the elevator and staircase to his left. "From there, finding your room should be fairly straight forward."

Mac nodded, then thanked him and clarified that he could handle it from here on out. Lon'qu took his word and left quickly, assuming only to continue his interrupted nap at Registration. Now that the newcomer was left to his own devices, he made his way up the elevator. Generally, he would take the stairs, but he was carrying his luggage for quite some time and decided to save some energy for today.

"Keep it open for me, please!"

Little Mac instinctively pushed back the elevator doors, causing them to reopen again. A short, spiky-haired boy in white rushed in, messenger bag on and a large box filled with personal items in his arms. One distinct characteristic Little Mac immediately picked up on was the white wings perched on his back.

"Thanks!" the brunette chirped. Mac tried not to stare, as it dawned on him that more than just humans will be attending this school. As he already got an eyeful of the student body when entering campus and realized how sheltered he was back at home. Although he spent the last year and a half competing in various boxing tournaments, this was the first time to see different beings during his travels. He noticed during his application process that Fils-Aime accepted applications outside of Earthania, though he had a hard time wrapping his head around attending school with supposed 'aliens' or other creatures of the sort.

"I'm Pit, by the way," the brown-haired boy offered his hand. "And your name?"

"Little Mac," he replied, taking it.

"It's nice to meet you," Pit beamed enthusiastically. "Looks like we'll be in the same dorm building. Exciting, huh?"

Once the elevator chimed and the doors reopened, Pit stepped out onto the 2nd floor hall. "I hope to see you around, Mac!"

Behind him, Little Mac saw a few of the newcomers moving in, most noticeably two beings shaped as short soft orbs with feet. The blue one with a silver mask on was carrying what looked like a large sack full of things while the pink one was precariously carrying what looked like a large cake slice into their dorm room. Another student that appeared to be wearing an astronaut helmet was getting helped into his room by small, colorful plant-like creatures.

_'How strange...'_ he thought to himself.

He finally reached the top floor and got to his room on his immediate right. He was content of the fact that his room was close to the showers, making his mornings a bit easier. After rummaging for his card key and letting himself in, he was surprised to see the dorm room was a more spacious than he was expecting.

There was a bunk bed for two on his far left and two study desks to his far right. The window was at the back with the blinds raised up, letting in the afternoon sun. Next to the desks was the bathroom door with only a sink and toilet inside. To his immediate left and right were two closet spaces on opposite ends.

He let out a tired breath out before dropping his bags on the ground and sitting on the bottom bunk to rest. He didn't have many personal possessions, as he was on the move often and only brought things he needed. But, he did allow himself to carry an old guilty pleasure around with him. He fished himself a candy bar from his duffel bag before digging out his clothes and heading to his closet.

* * *

"I fear to leave you here on your own again, Ike..."

"Don't be so worried, Soren," the taller man clapped the mage's back reassuringly. The two stood in front of the Wolfgang building soon after being dropped off by the city transit. (5)

"I know, Ike," Soren sighed and turned to face his friend. "But I can't help but be concerned for your safety. I had to make sure you got to the campus in one piece. Gods know you hardly take care of yourself on your own..."

Instead of being stung by his friend's remark, Ike grinned and rubbed the back of his neck, an old habit he had yet to overcome. Others may have been turned off by his friend's bluntness, but Ike knew better. His friend cared for him deeply, he just had a different way of expressing it.

"Hah, thanks for the reminder," Ike gave a lighthearted smile. "Say, are you sure you and the others will be fine?"

"We'll make do with what we have," Soren simply replied. "The Greil Knights are strong, just like your father. We managed just fine last spring and we'll do fine now. And according to my reports, the Crimean borders have been surprisingly quiet as of late. We'll tread with caution."

"That's what I wanted to hear," Ike grinned and playfully punched Soren on the shoulder before heading towards the dorm building. "Keep me posted on everything, alright? Let everyone know I'll be visiting next month."

Unfortunately, the mage was not of strong stature and cringed at Ike's teasing blow.

"Yes...of course."

* * *

Clothes and sweatshirts hung, textbooks shelved, boxing gear arranged, toiletries organized, and luggage stowed away.

Little Mac gave a contented smirk after relieving most of his unpacking within a few hours. The only thing left to go through was the plastic packet given to him at registration. The clear packaging looked fairly thin for having three sets of school uniforms, but upon further inspection, each uniform jacket had been individually packaged and vacuumed sealed to conserve space. Placing the lanyard and packet of papers on the side, Mac looked at the small card stock box included.

After opening the box, a small pin of the American flag popped out onto the palm of his hand, along with a folded slip of paper. The paper served as a visual key, showing the various lapel pins available within the school. According to the key, his lapel pin symbolized his place of origin from the American Continent. Other than pins symbolizing one's hometown, there were other pins available for school sports and clubs, given upon joining the given team.

Moving onto the uniform sets, he opened one of the sealed packets before trying it on in front of the bathroom mirror. The official uniform was a simple black soft-shell hooded jacket, multifaceted under different types of cold weather. The jacket was a zip-down with zippered pockets on the side and a removable hood. The inside was lined with a thin faux fur lining for the cold weather, and on the front right side was an embroidered school symbol, the emblazoned "Smash Ball". (6)

Pertaining to the guidelines set by the school administration, Fils-Aime students were required to wear the school jacket during classes or school activities (with a few exceptions if the weather was too hot or humid to wear it), but students had the freedom to wear whatever they wanted underneath the jacket, as deemed appropriate for the classroom. Each newcomer to the school was given two soft-shell thick jackets, and one cotton zip-down hoodie assigned to wear during warm weather.

Taking a good look at the mirror, Little Mac gave a cheesy smile and thumbs up at his reflection after making sure his jacket fitted well. Right in the middle of making odd flexing poses at the reflection, the front door knob jerk caused him to stop his silly antics and look towards the doorway.

"Aw man, I was hoping for my own room like last semester..."

A blue-haired boy in blue and gold garb and a brown bag slung over his shoulder opened the door only to immediately put his hand to his mouth.

"Ahh, dammit. Sorry - that sounded way ruder that it was supposed to..."

Little Mac brushed the comment off and went over to greet his roommate. "Don't worry about it. Call me Little Mac."

The boy grinned and shook Mac's hand, happy to see that he didn't offend his new roommate upon his first impression. "Ike of the Great Greil Knights. Looks like we'll be here together for year."

Ike set his bags down and immediately made his way to the bunk beds. "Okay, first things first - top or bottom? Since you were here first, you get to choose."

"Ah...I'm fine with the bottom bunk – "

"Yes! Score!" Ike let out a loud whoop before throwing one of his smaller bags on the top bunk to claim it. "You rock, man."

Little Mac walked over to his desk to put away his jacket uniforms before he was stopped by Ike.

"Oh hey, I've got something for you..."

Ike reached into one of his leather bags and tossed a small plastic bag full of colorful hard candy, sealed with a yellow ribbon towards Mac.

"Erm – I never had a roommate my last semester, so I hope we get along. I'm pretty chill and I don't really have any, uh, crazy ground rules or anything, but if you ever have a problem with anything with me, just let me know," the young mercenary sheepishly rubbed his neck. "They're sweets from my home country, and wanted to give a welcoming gift in case I had a roommate this year. Hope it's not super gay or anything, I just like giving gifts to people, that's all."

"Thanks," Little Mac simply said with a nod before placing the sweets on his desk. Although he didn't say much, he loved sweet candies and was thankful to have a calm and kind roommate.

Both men yearned for friendship and to enjoy each others company, but actions were enough without words needed to be spoken.

Promptly moving towards the closet, a small bit of shiny gold sticking out of Ike's luggage struck Mac's eye. The boxer walked over and nudged one of his bags over with his foot to get a closer look, only to have a very large blade fall onto the hardwood floor in a resounding thud.

"Christ, that's huge! I mean – sorry."

Ike stifled a laugh, muttering what sounded like "that's what she said," before coming over and gripping his blade.

"It's alright. Ragnell has been through much worse than that. Probably should put this away before someone hurts themselves."

"Where'd you get something like that? I've never seen a sword that big before."

There was a brief pause before Ike looked up to respond. For a moment, sadness reflected in his eyes before he put on a small smile. Little Mac pretended he didn't see it.

"Well, it belonged to my father..."

* * *

Nightfall.

She hastily wiped away at her forehead when sweat dripped down her temple before almost tripping over a large root of a tree.

The runaway quickly caught herself and kept running, desperately gasping for air and constantly looking behind her. No weapons or tomes left, with her only option is to run and pray for some sliver of hope that death would not be so painful.

The forest was silent except for her footsteps grazing through the gnarled bushes and tree branches. Her whimpered breathing hitched when a gutteral boom roared behind her and echoed in the distance.

_'Keep going...!'_

_'Keep running...!'_

Her pace was now slowing down due to her fatigue, but she did not stop. Could not stop. She had to get away.

Eyes not yet adjust to the light, she couldn't make a clear path through the deep forest as she beat and scratched and tore up her body by the thorny thicket and dense brushwood. She furiously clawed at the tangled mess when some of her long hair got caught on some tousy branches.

She squinted her eyes and saw a field clearing up before her, but she could feel the nefarious beast was nearly breathing down her neck. She hoped to hold out a little longer but she knew in her heart she was delaying the inevitable.

_'Don't stop, don't stop...!' _

Coward.

Liar.

Traitor.

Accept your damned fate.

She tried so hard to block the painful words out of her mind, so much so that she covered her ears. A burning sensation began to bore through her chest.

"A-augh...!"

A sharp edged rock was all it took to catch on her boot, causing her to tumble forward and slamming her head onto the hard ground. She didn't have the chance to catch her breath or even let out a scream, as she was instantly engulfed by a blinding white light.

* * *

**To be continued...**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hello again! Thank you for reading the next chapter. I am **SO **sorry for the boring, slow pace! I realized after rereading my first few chapters that my story has a slow set-up. But those who are still lingering around, I hope to pick up the pace real soon and get to the more interesting stuff!

I feel a bit guilty because I'm so busy trying to introduce things while trying not to drown people in exposition. I didn't realize how Little Mac-centric this chapter was - not that it is a bad thing, haha! Next chapter will focus on the Iwata Students, so we'll get more Marth, Zelda, Peach, Rose(lina), and...Roy? We'll have to wait and see!

So far, I only have just one more chapter of introductions, and then we're diving into plot and the great SUPER SMASH tournament! Who is this mysterious girl running away? Who or what is chasing her? Tune in next time folks!

It's odd reading and writing about Ike – many writers like to write him as this big muscle head oaf or jerkass, but in his own game, he's actually super friendly and nice. Some Fire Emblem fans say that his quote "You get no mercy from me," is out-of-character, but to be fair, some taunts to other characters are OOC (Female Robin anyone?). When I met my first roommate in college, she gave me a big lollipop she got from Oregon, and I was so happy to have such a kind and wonderful roommate! That's why when I was writing Ike, I was like, "I could see him do that!"

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

**_"Guest: _**_Question: are the character in the beginning gonna be_ _The main character?"_

Thank you so much for enjoying my first chapter, it means a lot to me! I wasn't sure whether or not to let the story reveal who the main cast is and the pairings, so if you want me to list them in my next Author's Note and/or in my profile, let me know! But so far, Marth, Peach, Pitt, Roy, and Zelda are confirmed as part of the Main Cast. Wario, Samus, Ike, Little Mac are under the Main Side Characters, but will have moments where the story will focus on their arc and development.

For now, I'll reveal more later, but if you want to know now, I'll definitely post it up.

I hope to post at least every first Saturday, but if we're lucky, I may be able to post again this month! In the meantime, look out for the next chapter, **Geborgenheit. **

**\- A. Mitsuni**

* * *

**Index:**

(1) Brinstar theme from _Metroid_ on the NES.

(2) Brewster is a character from the _Animal Crossing_ series who tends his café called "The Roost." In the Nintendo-Land city, he expanded his business and provides a full menu and bar as well.

(3) "Karissa the Destroyer" was a prank sponsored by Game Stop. During a Smash 4 demo, a 10-year old girl beats a few professional players, only later to reveal that another pro (KoreanDJ) was controlling her controller.

(4) Lon'qu and Lissa are two side characters from _Fire Emblem: Awakening_. Lissa is Chrom's little sister while Lon'qu is one of Chrom's allies. The former is of the cleric class and the latter of the myrmidon class.

(5) Soren is a mage and close ally to Ike from _Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance_ and _Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn_.

(6) Smash balls do exist in this universe, but they are a rare and mysterious natural phenomenon. When they appear, anyone can jump and hit the ball. Once the ball is broken, the person is consumed with an enormous amount of great energy and power for a small amount of time. The Fils-Aime Battalion uses the Smash Ball as its school symbol and dedicates itself to teach students to break their old selves and harness the unlimited power within, just as the legendary smash balls do in real life.

**EDIT: **Spelling error fixed. Missing word fixed. Certain wording fixed. Formatting, spelling, and extra information. Continuity issues.


	3. Chapter Three: Geborgenheit

**Chapter Three: **Geborgenheit

* * *

**Geborgenheit:** (German) (n.) _to feel completely safe, like nothing could ever harm you; security, comfort, trust, satisfaction, acceptance, and love from others._

* * *

A loud chime on the intercom went off, prompting the Iwata campus the end of the midmorning classes.

"Have a good day! Don't forget to bring your packet for Wednesday's discussion!" Professor Frankly announced quickly to the class while wiping clean the white board for next period's class. (1)

Students began packing their bags and shuffling out of the classroom, the ends of their chairs screeching against the linoleum tile. Daisy stared at wonderment of how her teacher, a Goomba, was able to move the whiteboard eraser without any physical hands. Nonetheless, she shrugged and headed out the door, following the students who all were flowing out of their classrooms and gathering into the large hallway. Friends were meeting in small circles by the stairway and corridor as girls and boys both chatting and gossiping excitedly about a variety of things.

Daisy, on the other hand, looked on as she walked alone by herself. She had already met a few other newcomers during Freshmen Orientation, along with a few girls in her first class, but still felt somewhat estranged from everyone. Perhaps it had to do with her spending much of any free time with her cousins, Peach and Rose, than going out to meet new people.

'_It's alright,'_ the Sarasa-land heir assured herself. _'I don't have to meet people right away. School just started after all.'_

As much as she hated to admit it, even she – the more extroverted and energetic of the princess trio – was having troubles approaching people in such a strange new place. Being completely outside the Mushroom kingdom for the very first time, with only Peach and Rose as the only source of familiarity caused her to quickly attach and cling onto them for the first few days. She even skipped a few orientation mixers to hang out with her cousins in the duplex they all shared.

'_Besides, it's not that I_ can't_ make friends. I just don't need to at this moment. I'll do it later. When I feel like it.' _

Daisy let out a big yawn before adjusting the strap of her yellow-orange backpack and exiting out of the Clyde Building, perched on the east side of the campus. She missed her alarm this morning and would have overslept if Rose didn't wake her up ten minutes before class. Of course, it didn't help that the tomboy stayed up past midnight marathoning action flicks off of Netflix than going to sleep.

'_So much starting the school year on the right foot,'_ she sighed to herself, biting the nail on her pinky finger. A small breeze with a mild September chill blew past her.

"Daisy…!"

The brunette turned over to see Peach waving her over from the end of the concrete pathway besides the blossomed gardens at the center intersection. Her seeing her cousin had brightened her mood.

"Hey!"

"So! How was your first class?" Peach asked as the two walked down the hilly path, making their way towards the dining hall at the Sydney Building.

"It was alright," Daisy replied nonchalantly while adjusting her at her red mushroom lapel pin on her blazer. "Professor Frankly is rather…eccentric with his lectures."

"Oh yeah, that's him alright," Peach giggled in agreement. "I had him last year for Earthania History 101. A little bit of an oddball, but at least he's not super strict like Dr. Wiley. His classes are pretty solid, too."

The two girls began discussing their schedule for the day and the classes they signed up for. Iwata Academy allotted their classes to run in a block schedule during the weekdays, as 45-minute long classes were on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and 2-hour classes were on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This allowed students to have concentrated experiences on a variety of subjects without the burden of heavy homework loads, as well as letting school sports and programs to run smoothly during the week.

"Just curious," Peach, who led the way, took a short cut on a small dirt paved path through some shrubbery, "have you made any friends yet?"

"Erm...not really," Daisy admitted, looking down at the ground for a moment. "Haven't really talked to anyone yet."

"Hmm..."

Daisy waited for Peach's response, as she looked up in a thoughtful gaze before turning over with a cheeky smile on her face.

"You better make friends soon, or you'll end up being like an annoying clingy girlfriend to me and Rose."

"What!? Shut up!"

Peach laughed out loud as she got smacked in the back presumably by Daisy's backpack.

"Augh, wait, no! I was just kidding! Really...!"

"Jeez Louis, you're such a butt-face sometimes..."

"Real talk, though," Peach turned to face Daisy once they were walking side by side again. "We really want you to have a good time here. I know its a little hard being out here on your own, but we're here for you. I hope you don't feel that we're holding you back; you'll make friends in no time, especially once you start adjusted and feeling comfortable around here."

Daisy slowly processed what Peach said before responding. "You're right. I've been worrying a little too much 'bout how I should act around people here..."

She was then surprised by a side hug given by Peach. "Don't worry about it. I felt the same way when I was a freshman, but then I was able to make the friends I have now after I got used to being away from home. Oh! Speaking of, you'll get to meet them today for lunch, won't you?"

Daisy shrugged as both girls walked through the sliding glass doors and into the vast dining hall.

"If it's alright if I can join you, sure!"

Past the two automatic doors, the girls were led into large spacious area with rectangular tables lining the center in orderly straight rows. Towards the sides of the open room on the bottom floor were circular tables that could fit bigger groups of people. The entire left wall was lined with thick glass paneling, letting in the view of large pond and forest greenery at center of the campus. The old and elegant Gothic architecture peeked behind the flowering elements.

On the back corner of the right side was a large triangular stair case, leading up to the second level. While a few groups of students gathered by the stairs to eat or chat, there staircase was large enough to make a clear pathway to those who were going up or down. And up on the mezzanine floor were more circular dining tables, with one door to the far right leading to outdoor seating on the balcony, and another door, left of the stairway, leading to a sky bridge to the Student Common's building. Tucked away in the back corner was a petite Starbeans Café that brewed fresh coffee and baked goods daily.

Daisy followed close behind Peach, in where after finding an empty table on the second floor, she dropped off her bag and blazer and headed into the main dining hall for food. Past the lined tables in the hall was the entrance to the cafeteria, where students picked up their trays, plates, and silverware before filing in various lines for food.

At the left side of the entryway was the "Salad and Fruit" bar, where students could pick from a variety of organic vegetables and fruits, along with seasonings, toppings, and dressings. Past the salad bar was where hot soups and chowders were served, and further ahead was a morning "Breakfast" bar where students could fill up on grains, cereals, yogurt, and pastries at any time of the day. The two princesses grabbed a quick fruit bowl before heading towards the main entrée lines.

Through the salad and breakfast bar was the "Grill", where barbeque sandwiches, burgers, turkey tenders, and fries were readily available for pickup. Other foods served in the cafeteria were the "Classics", where many hot foods such as seafood, lean meats, and veggies were seasoned, cooked, and sautéed to perfection. Since Iwata Academy had a very diverse student body, this allowed cafeteria staff to serve a multitude of cultural dishes during the school year.

Next to classics was the "Deli" line, with an assortment of thin cut lunch meats, local cheeses, and freshly baked bread, could be customized and ordered. Beyond the classics and deli line was the "Pizza and Pasta" section; pizzas were traditionally baked in a brick wood-fired oven, along with Calzones and Stromboli. The pasta menu was served on flat stainless steel woks, offering different types of pastas and gluten-free options throughout the week.

Across the pasta section was the "Beverages" line, where plastic cups, fruit juices, and soda machines were placed. And near the exit by the cashiers was the "Grab-n-Go" section, where TV dinners, cold sandwiches and wraps, bottled drinks, and packaged produce were refrigerated to be quickly picked up and bought by students on the go.

After a few minutes waiting in queue, the blonde and brunette pair made their way back to their table after scanning their student cards at the cashier. (2) Daisy had already filled up her tray full of food, but forced herself to stay away from the enticing aroma from the "Cooking Mama's Sweets" dessert shoppe situated by the vending machines. (3) As much as she loved snacking on candies and cakes, she promised herself not to go overboard and gain weight on her first week at Iwata.

When their table was in sight, Daisy noticed two girls already seated at the table, who both greeted Peach as she set her tray down.

One was tall and slender, with long light honey blonde hair trailing down her back and two long strands of side bangs laced in thin ivory ribbons. Her hair was smoothly slicked back behind a unique silver crown, which rested on the top of her hairline. As she casually looked down at her iPhone and poked at her chicken salad, she glanced up for only a second to address "hey" to Peach. Daisy slowly recognized her, as she was one of the members of student government who stood next to their school president during his dinner speech last evening.

The other, of much shorter height, waved eagerly at Peach and gestured her to sit next to her. She wore a cotton white headband and had light blonde hair pulled up in short curly pigtails.

"Everyone, this is my cousin, Daisy," Peach extended her arm to gently push Daisy forward towards the group. "Daisy, these are my friends Zelda and Lissa."

"It's so nice to meet you, Daisy!" Lissa was the first to jump up and enthusiastically grab Daisy's hand soon after she put down her tray on the table.

"Erm - same to you, too."

"Lissa, how did Fils-Aime orientation with Lon'qu go last Saturday?" Peach asked, sipping on her bottled soda pop.

"Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you what happened! There's quite a few cuties in the new bunch this year..." The two began catching up on how their weekend went, with Lissa occasionally showing Peach a few photos on her Instagram. Daisy quietly sat back and listened to their conversations, unsure whether to join in or not.

"What about you, Zelly?" Lissa turned to her Hylian friend.

"...hmm?" Zelda looked up for a moment. "Sorry, I was checking my email - just making sure my professor got the essay I sent this morning."

While Peach asked her again what her plans were that evening, two more made their way to the table. One of whom Daisy easily knew was her older cousin Rose, who was carrying a silver tumbler with herbal tea and a small paper bag of mini sugar cookies from the café. The other was an unfamiliar face; a navy-haired boy who rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt and his blazer tied to his waist. He, too, looked distinctly familiar from the last evening's dinner.

"Chrom?" Lissa quirked an eye towards her older brother. "Thought you'd be eating lunch with the Shepherds..."

"Nah, Sully and Stahl decided to take everyone off campus for barbeque," Chrom replied, popping a french fry in his mouth. "I'd go with them, but Marth asked me to come with him for the fundraiser committee meeting after lunch before our escort mission tomorrow." (4)

Soon enough, the table was filled with different sorts of conversations as a familiar, warm atmosphere surrounded the group of friends. Everyone, even the ever quiet Rose, joined the group conversation; friends catching up on each other after a summer apart, debating on current political issues, and bantering and teasing each other.

"Say, what do you guys think about the city council's Early Bird Ordinance proposal?" (5)

"Uuugh, don't get Vaike started on that - he'll talk your ear off until the butt-crack of dawn." (6)

"_Ewww_, gross! You said butt-crack."

"Zelda, did you meet any new friends during the summer vacation?"

"Maybe if she gets a boyfriend, she'll actually be social during lunch for once, haha!"

"You know, you of all people shouldn't be telling me to get a boyfriend, Miss I-can't-decide-if-I-like-Lon'qu-or-not..."

"...hey!" The sound of a fork and plate clattering. "Shut your butt-hole mouth!"

"Wait, what about Lon'qu...?"

"Nothing! _Nothing, _Chrom. Zelda doesn't know what she's talking about."

"I don't know, Liz..."

"Peachy, as your dearest friend, SHUT UP."

Daisy, while politely smiling and nibbling at her seasoned pork chop, couldn't help but feel intimidated by all the other upperclassman and held back underneath Peach's shadow. As much as she loved her cousin, she yearned to make friends more easily and act naturally like Peach. To be able to ease her way into the conversation, joke around, and be her happy and cheerful self.

'_Don't be stupid, you just met these people.'_

All the way deep in herself, she felt was a deep, uncomfortable insecurity and sense of awkwardness. The Sarasa-land princess was feeling unsure whether the group was alienating her, or if she was the one alienating everyone. Was she being rude? Improper? The front she put before herself was faltering and it was making her feel fearful.

"Oh wow, I almost forgot!" Peach stopped munching at her fruit bowl for a moment. "I didn't introduce you Daisy yet."

"Chrom, this is my cousin, Daisy," Peach first pointed to Daisy, then to Chrom who was sitting across from her. "Daisy, this is Chrom. He's Lissa's older brother and the class vice-president, so you'll see him around a lot."

"Nice to meet you," Chrom reached over to firmly shake her hand and gave a friendly grin. "Hope your first day wasn't too tough."

Daisy took it and meekly smiled. "You too."

"Speaking of cousin..." Chrom sat back down and checked through his phone for any notifications or text messages with a furrowed brow. "He's late."

"Hmm, you're right," Zelda added looking at the mounted clock on the wall, which was a little past 12:30. "Marth is usually here by now, and I know his class has ended since 12."

"I'm sending him a text right now," Peach tapped at the screen of her Samsung Note. "...where...are...you...question mark, question mark, question mark..."

Peach giggled as she set her phone on camera mode after sending the text message. "Hey Lissa, look at me and look like your shrugging, like _'I don't know where you are...!'_"

"Uh, okay!" Lissa shrugged her shoulders and stuck out her tongue.

"You too, Chrom. I'm gonna spam his inbox until he replies!"

"Sure, why not..." Chrom, smirked to himself, shrugged and raised his eyebrows.

"Rose...!"

Rose gave an amused look before closing her eyes and posing a slight shrug of the shoulders.

"Daisy...!"

"Oh? Me?" Daisy squeaked and pointed to herself, as she was not expecting to be a part of the silly prank. "I – uh – okay!"

Daisy gave a quick shrug and an unsure smile to the camera.

"Wait, I don't think that was a good picture..."

"It's fine, it's fine! Zelda...?"

The Hylian royal gracefully turned to face Peach and, with a straight face, stuck her middle finger towards the camera.

"_Pfffttt...!"_

Chrom nearly choked on his drink as Peach had burst into a fit of giggles and took several shots.

"_Oh...MY GODS...!"_

Lissa guffawed out loud and slapped her hand on the table, a few snorts escaping from her (7). Zelda's face quickly broke into laughter, Rose had held her hand to her mouth to keep from laughing aloud, and Daisy simply sat there with eyes and mouth gaping wide open.

She was not expecting that.

She had not expected that.

Finally, as if a weight was lifted from her shoulders, she smiled and soon enough began to laugh.

She felt years of training and etiquette drift away, putting her mind and body at ease. No longer did she feel the need to keep up the tight façade of what she thought "royalty" was supposed to look like, or keep guessing what was acceptable and what was not. The most regarded upper classman of the school, of all people, were up here goofing off and having a fun time just like normal teenagers. For all one knows, maybe making friends wasn't so hard after all.

Peach's friends were more than just their status or standing in school.

They felt real. Genuine in fact.

"Oh gods, I can't wait until he sees that..." Chrom chuckled soon after he recovered from his coughing fit.

"I, uh…can't believe you did that," Daisy said once the laughter had died down. "I mean, not that it wasn't funny or anything..."

"No, I understand," Zelda waved it off. "Most people think I'm serious or mad all the time."

"Well, that's because it's true..." Lissa pouted at Zelda's direction.

"Okay, not all of us can afford moping around and flirting with boys," Zelda raised an eyebrow as she prodded Lissa back. "Some of us have reputations to uphold after all…"

"You know what I say to that boring stuff? _Plllllbbbttt…_!" Lissa simply crossed her arms before blowing a raspberry at Zelda. This time, everyone laughs at Lissa's antics, even including Zelda and Rose.

"By the way…" Peach turned over to Daisy. "We were going to go to Brewster's tonight for soda floats after classes are over. You want to join us?"

"Omigosh, you must come!" Lissa nodded eagerly. "You'll get to meet Maribelle and the others as well!" (8)

"Maribelle…?" Chrom looked over with a slight grimaced look on his face. "I think Daisy actually wants to have a good time tonight…"

"Don't be rude!" Lissa smacked her brother on the shoulder, albeit lightly. "She's not _that _bad! She just a bit uptight and hasn't warmed up to you yet!"

"After all these years?!" Chrom simply laughed it off, flowing along with everyone's warm smiles.

Daisy beamed and nodded, truly this time, to accept their evening invitation. Perhaps now there finally was a place with company wherein she felt that she belonged.

* * *

Half-past noon and the bright, burning sun was still amidst clear blue skies, shining down through the windows and glass paned doors of every campus building. Unlike the dreary weekend, this Monday morning rose on sun-kissed temperatures without a cloud in sight. Many of the students were outside eating their lunches and soaking the last of summer sun on lengthy stretches of green grass.

As such, this year's class president was just leaving the large campus library, passing by the solid bronze statues and trotting down the marble stairwell. He took a deep breath to enjoy the fresh air before heading towards the Sydney Building.

That is, right as he was nearly taken out by a powerful surprise tackle from behind.

The sheer shock of the attack practically sent Marth stumbling onto the concrete ground and into a large bush if he did not recover his footing at the very last minute. Marth would have sworn out loud if he didn't hear his dear friend laughing first.

"Finally found you, ya' elusive sonuvabitch!"

The weight on his back slipped off when Marth turned around, slightly glaring at his friend with hand over heart.

"Good gods! Mind not giving me a heart attack or ramming me into the ground before announcing your grand return?"

"Tch. Missed you too, Marth."

Once Marth straightened up, he got a good look of his Pheraean friend. His messy red hair was now longer, but still fiery as ever. A few inches taller and a bit leaner and sharper (his uniform no longer too loose or too big on him), but still wore his old blue-gold headband and his trademark grin on his face. After a year from his going away, he definitely had his share of battles but with a touch of youth still within him.

"It's good to see you here again, Roy."

Marth cleared his throat and smiled before taking Roy's hand and giving a quick shoulder embrace. The fact he about face planted the ground didn't deter his happiness of seeing his childhood friend now attending Iwata once more, especially after his disheartening departure late spring semester of last year.

"You too, Marth." Roy nudged his friend's shoulder, a little relieved to see that his friend wasn't actually upset.

"I thought you were busy all day – or at least I didn't think I'd see you until later this afternoon."

Marth felt his phone vibrate once in his pants pocket, but ignored it.

"I was, but my morning class was released early since there was a few absences in class," Roy rested his hands on the back of his neck as he began making his way down the cemented straightaway. "Just now on my way to the Registrar's office to sign some paperwork on my scholarship before seeing you here."

Marth followed and walked beside him, reminiscing of their times growing up together in junior academy. "Man, there's so much I didn't get to ask you over the phone," he paused. "Are you coming in as a sophomore?"

"Nope! Once I got my transcript finalized, I had enough credits to continue as a junior, as if I never left."

"Really...?" Marth sent him a mildly puzzled look. Another vibrate. "But how...?"

"Well, I actually owe your sis big on this one," Roy explained as he paused for a moment in front of the flat green meadow. "Back in June, Elice offered a way for me to earn my sophomore credits if I took the summer intensive program, since by GPA was high enough for it. Those classes really kicked my ass raw, but because of that, I was able to catch up before the school year started."

Two more vibrates. "Wow...I never knew..."

"To be fair, I maybe-sorta...kept it from you and everyone else because I wasn't sure whether or not I was going to make it in this year," Roy shrugged and kept walking on ahead. "I only called you once I got the e-mail from the headmaster."

"Right," Marth nodded, then quietly asked, "And your father...is he...?"

"Better. Much better," Roy assured him. "I know I had to take care of some business when he was really sick, but that...that's behind me now."

He let out a breath he was holding in before taking a long look ahead towards the horizon. "I don't regret taking my father's place when he and his men needed me...but now that my journey is over, I'm just so glad to be given the chance to keep most of my scholarship and continue studying here."

Roy rubbed his forearm and put on a sheepish grinned again. "I did a lot of soul searching when I was away, but for now...I'm still grateful everything worked out the way it did. Even though we lost a few good men on the way, we were victorious and my father fully recovered. And after rethinking what was really important to me...that's all I could ever ask for." (9)

Marth looked at his red-haired friend with a mixture of relief and admiration. He heard a few reports from his parents of Roy's situation, but for the most part, was in the dark all of last year. The occasional times could Marth get a hold of Roy (spotty signal, constant traveling, keeping a low profile, or straight up unavailable), he could tell Roy was withholding a lot from him. Whether or not it was at his discretion, Marth and his friends respected his decision to lead his father's army and patiently waited for Roy's return. Considering Roy's personal growth and humbling maturity now, it didn't take him twice to realize a big change in Roy this year.

"Dude...are you going to answer your phone? It's been vibrating the last few minutes."

"Huh?" Marth fished out his phone and took a look at his notification. Specifically the text messages and what appeared to be a slew of photos now filling his inbox.

* * *

**CHROM: **(12:19 PM) at the cafeteria

**PEACH: **(12:37 PM) where r u?-?-?

* * *

**PEACH: **(12:41 PM) (No subject) MMS (5)

* * *

Roy peered over at Marth's phone when the Altean snickered audibly to himself. After receiving a string of pictures of his friends shrugging, which were odd in of itself, Marth wasn't exactly expecting the class secretary to be flipping him off. Although it was nice to catch up with Roy, he did realize he was running rather short on time for lunch and his friends were probably finishing up by now.

"What the – that's Zelda?" Roy piped in. "Huh. She grew out her hair."

"I should go," Marth turned to Roy after pocketing his Android. Fittingly enough, they stopped at a fork at the dirt trail, which divided the gravel paths into two separate directions. "I'm supposed to meet Chrom for lunch today..."

"Same here," Roy adjusted the strap on his sling backpack. "I'm running late for my appointment anyways."

"Are you free tonight? Lissa wants to meet up at Brewster's and I'm sure everyone would want to see you again."

"Uh..." Roy frowned for a second. "Not sure...my parents wanted to Skype sometime tonight to make sure everything worked out at Iwata. I'll just send you a text later today, kay?"

"Sure thing. See you."

"Later."

The duo split off on their parting ways, ending their reunion on diverging paths along the wood. With the past behind them, Marth thought the future couldn't look any more brighter.

* * *

**To be continued...**

* * *

**Author's Note: **

Hello again, readers! Oh my goodness! A bit of a lengthy note ahead.

To everyone, thank you so much for staying with me and reading this chapter. I'm always excited and nervous when releasing a new chapter and I'm very grateful to those who decide to read my story. I hope everyone is having a good holiday! I know I am. This type of season makes me want to drink hot cocoa and read some fluffy Christmas stories.

I hate to admit it, but I actually had to cut this chapter IN HALF. I wanted to keep every chapter update about 5000-6000 words, and I...I...wrote too much. Because of that, the next chapter update will come _very_ soon!

I hope I wrote Daisy, Zelda, and Peach's character alright. I admired these girls when I was a kid, so the last thing I would want to do is make them out-of-character. I wanted to make each character's core personality in game was the same in my story, but I also took in account that every student is also a teenager and realistically, will act like a teenager. That's why a few of the Iwata students are both very mature and responsible in certain ways, but also still act in silly and ridiculous ways amongst themselves. At least, that's how I remember high school, haha!

By the way: fun fact, I based a bit of Iwata's Dining Hall to Binghamton University's cafeteria! Why? It was the first to pop up on Youtube. *sweats* I realized that I spent a lengthy time describing the cafeteria. *sweats even more* I hope I didn't go overboard, ho boy. (Should've stopped on the description, d'oh!)

Speaking of which! Students from both Iwata and Fils-Aime range about 16-22 years old, with a few exceptions, and both graduates, professors, and other adults are a few years older. One of the few things I struggle with in this story is juggling everyone's personality type. With a few characters (especially with some of the royalty characters), some of their personalities tend to blend in and are very similar, so I want to work on differentiating everyone and making everyone their own distinct person. I hope that make sense? For now, here is the grade levels for the characters in Iwata. Fils-Aime will come in the next chapter.

Iwata Academy:

**First Years: **Daisy, Lissa*

**Second Years: **Peach, Sully, Maribelle

**Third Years: **Zelda, Marth, Roy, Vaike,

**Fourth Years: **Chrom, Lon'qu, Stahl, Rose

**Graduates: **Elice, Emmeryn

_*Lissa, despite her youthful and naïve appearance, is very intelligent and managed to be accepted at Iwata at a early age of 14._

So far, I've been nailing down how to mix all the video game lore in this universe and how it will mesh well with the other Smash contenders. It's been a bit rough patching up some of my writing towards and filling in plot holes. Ah, the hardships of every writer! As for Zelda and Link's back-story, it was a bit of a tough situation figuring which game to draw from the most.

At the end, I decided Ocarina of Time would be best because of its relevance in the official Legend of Zelda timeline. I still really love the character design in Hyrule Warriors – Zelda's dress is _gorgeous! _In general, I will try to stay true to game lore, but I will have to tweak and change a few bits of canon to make the story work.

* * *

Reviewer Responses: 

"_**potato: **__ooooh this looks pretty interesting :D question, will you have both robins appear in this?" _

Ah! I want to answer this so badly, but due to plot relevance, I can only confirm for now that female Robin will be in the story...**so far**_**. **_Stay tuned, and thanks you so much for reviewing!

"_**Ruler of Nintendo: **__So well-written... Can't wait to see where this goes. I'm not usually a fan of AUs like this, but this one is actually believable and I've never seen an idea used like this before. Nice nods to our presidents as well. Fils-Aime all the way XD" _

Aww! Thank you, that means a lot to me! Not sure if my writing isn't publish-worthy – I have plenty of room for improvement. I completely understand what you mean about alternate universes, though! When I was planning my story, I definitely wanted a unique universe that was distinguishable among the rest. The typical High School AU is the plague of fanfiction in general, and they are a dime a dozen within the Smash fandom. At the same time, I didn't want to resort to the "Smash Mansion" universe, either – nothing wrong with that universe, but I felt there were enough stories using that setting without me adding more to it.

In the end, I settled for a more modern world universe, but without abandoning the diverse game lore every character brought to the table. I also wanted to incorporate the game's mechanics in the story (which will be explained later!) Just for fun-sies, I sprinkled a bit of cameos and nods to characters, A-list names, and game lore from various Nintendo titles. Glad to see that the Fils-Aime Battle School has a fan!

"_**Guest:**__ Excellent work so far!" _

Thank you very much! Hope you will stick around for more!

For the rest of my readers, don't forget to look out for the new chapter next month, **Trouvaille**!

**\- A. Mitsuni**

* * *

**Index:**

(1) Professor Frankly is a old Goomba teacher at U Goom from _Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door_. The good Professor consults with Mario and Goombella at various points during their quest, and helps them with hints on where to go next.

(2) All the battle schools in Nintendo-Land assign school identification cards to all attending students. For Iwata Academy, their ID cards allow them computer access at any part of the campus, as well buying items (food and drink, school supplies, textbooks, merchandise, etc.) on campus from money drawn from their personal student account.

(3) _Cooking Mama_ is a Nintendo series where the titular character teaches players to cook various kinds of food through cookery simulation mini games.

(4) Sully and Stahl are two side characters from _Fire Emblem: Awakening_ and are a part of Chrom's volunteer militia known as "the Shepherds." Both are of cavalier class.

(5) A town ordinance is a rule that changes certain things about your town in _Animal Crossing: New Leaf_. In the Early Bird Ordinance, shops open and close 3 hours earlier and villagers get up for the day and go to bed 3 hours earlier.

(6) Vaike is another side character from _Fire Emblem: Awakening_, who is also a part of the Shepherds. He is Chrom's childhood friend and is in the fighter class.

(7) Lissa is most likely to snort when laughing, but is very self conscious about her snorting.

(8) Maribelle is a side character from _Fire Emblem: Awakening._ She is Lissa's best friend and is known for her snobbish upper-class personality. She is of the troubadour class.

(9) Roy is the main character from _Fire Emblem: the Binding Blade_. In the main plot, Roy leads the League of Lycia's army against the forces of the militant country of Bern shortly after his father falls ill. In this universe, Roy has returned from his quest of defeating Bern's forces and has recently come back to Nintendo-land to continue his studies soon after his father, Eliwood, recovers and can lead his army once again.

**EDIT: **Wording. Formatting. Cleaning up more wording, punctuation, and misspellings. Continuity issues.


	4. Chapter Four: Trouvaille

**Chapter Four:** Trouvaille

* * *

**Trouvaille: **(French) (n.)_ a valuable discovery, or a lucky find; something lovely discovered by chance._

* * *

"You _do_ know I already uploaded that pic of you on Facebook, right?"

Slam!

"You didn't _dare_..."

Zelda firmly pounded the bottom of her plastic cup on the tabletop with a loud clank before boring her death stare at the Archanean prince. Marth immediately sweat dropped and held his hands up in apprehension.

"H-hey, hold on, it's was a joke!"

The blonde looked on unamused before shaking her head and swatting at his arm, muttering "jerk" with a small smile on her lips. Marth, as always, brushed it off with an innocent smile. Rose, who sat on the other end of the table, was busy reading one of her text books before looking up and smiling behind the covers.

"What took you so long, anyways?" Chrom asked as he took the last spoonful of chocolate soft serve. He already ate most of his lunch and was finishing off his dessert when Marth finally showed up at their table.

"Sorry about that. I ran into Roy when I was leaving the library," Marth answered back.

_'Quite literally, actually.'_

"Oh right! I almost forgot he was coming back this year. Say, is he doing okay?"

"Whoa, did you say Roy? I haven't seen him in years!" Lissa popped up into the conversation.

She suddenly remembered the times she and her brother met with Marth and Roy during the bi-annual Archanean royal banquets when they were kids. Although, most of her childhood memories were of her and Maribelle fighting against the Chrom, Roy, and Marth, who vehemently denied including them during play time in the gardens because "no girls allowed." That is, until Elice and Emmeryn chided the boys to be nicer. (1)

"I wonder if he still remembers me..."

"Roy was in good spirits when I saw him," Marth nodded reassuringly. "And Lissa, I'm sure he'll be happy to see you again after so long."

"Oh hey! You're finally here!" A voice was overheard behind Chrom and Lissa.

To Marth's left walks in Peach and Daisy, who left the table for a moment and returned with Starbeans coffee from in hand. Daisy, too, realized the azure-haired junior as the class president, but couldn't bring to mind his name.

"Took ya' long enough," Peach bit back her giggles before setting her iced macchiato down. "So! Did you get my texts?"

"Yes, I did! In fact, they will be wonderful contributions to the yearbook committee - ack!" Marth was interrupted by a swift kick to his chair by a certain Hylian sitting next to him.

"This is Marth, by the way," Peach turned to her cousin once more to introduce her friend. "And Marth, this is - "

"Daisy, isn't it?" Marth extended his hand to Daisy, who was surprised that the upperclassman already knew of her.

"How did you know..?"

"One of the duties as part of class government is becoming familiar with the student body, including the incoming freshmen this year," he explained. "That, and Peach would tell us stories all about you all last year."

"Eh...?!"

"Wait, I didn't say the embarrassing ones!" Peach still laughed when Daisy lightly elbowed her.

"So Daisy, what do you think of the school so far?" the class president asked once the two princesses took their seats at the table.

Daisy shrugged, a little unsure what else to say. "Ah...it's been alright, I guess?" She pondered if she could have said more, but what?

"Just alright?" Marth feigned a surprised look before rubbing his chin and smiling again. "Well then, it looks like I got my work cut out for me this year."

"Wait, I-I didn't mean it like that - "

"Relax. He was kidding," Zelda casually spoke up while scrolling on her phone.

"Oh. Right."

"I know it's just been your first day at school, but have you thought of joining any sports or our clubs?" Marth continued.

"I never really thought about it..."

"Why don't you try for our tennis team?" Peach added. "You were really into that last summer. Plus, you'll get to meet more people in your class."

"Our team is also one of the top teams in the region," Rose recalled from behind her book. "I think we actually made it to nationals last spring."

"Huh..." Daisy relaxed back in her chair. She did welcome the idea of trying out the many extracurricular activities on campus and this week was the perfect time to join. "I guess it couldn't hurt to try it out."

"Well, it looks like we should start heading out," Marth glanced at his watch before he got up from the table and slung his cotton-canvas messenger bag and black blazer over his shoulder. "C'mon Chrom, we got a meeting to attend."

"Marth..." Chrom looked at his cousin with tired, begging eyes. "Do they really need the vice-prez there?"

"Remember, you signed up for this when you got the job," Marth rounded over and patted the navy-haired Ylissian on the shoulder. "Besides, I need another ear at the meeting in case I can't make it to the next one later this month."

With a sigh, Chrom got up from his chair and picked up his tray, now resigning to the fact that he'll be dragged to this meeting whether he liked it or not. He did enjoy hands-on involvement with the school and the students as vice president, but other times like this felt more less enjoyment and more like work.

"Hey, at least pretend you're listening this time around, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"I'll see ya' later tonight, Chrom! Don't fall asleep like last time!" Lissa waved him off as the two bluenettes made their way down the staircase and out of the dining hall.

"Who were you guys talking about earlier, anyways?" Peach asked when the boys were out of sight. When she and Daisy made their way back to the table, she couldn't help but overhear the tail end of their conversation.

"Marth was just telling us that he ran into Roy today," Lissa finished the last bit of her berry parfait before wiping her mouth boyishly wiping her mouth with her hand. "And that's why he was late for lunch."

"Roy?" the Mushroom Kingdom princess repeated with a quizzical look. She knew most of the student body and a few freshmen attending this year, but that name wasn't ringing any bells in her mind.

"Oh, I forgot," Zelda set her phone aside. "You haven't met Roy yet since he left the year you began Iwata. He and Marth knew each other since they were kids, so you'll probably meet him sooner or later."

"Hm."

"Don't worry, Peach! He's not as cute as your Mario!" Lissa playfully poked at her friend with the end of her spoon.

Peach's shocked face quickly flushed pink. "Wha – oh, be quiet!"

* * *

The click of her heels on the hard ivory floor was muted by the wool of the blood red carpet.

Even late in the afternoon, bright beams of sunlight descended upon the great hall; the light streamed past the stain glass windows and through the gold trimmed pillars on each side. On every marble column was a candle-lit lantern and a race emblem and ancient Hylian script engraved in stone. Each pillar marked every race and tribe in the kingdom, all of which were peacefully united under the ruling Hyrule flag.

A young woman of noble stature, carrying an air of grace and poise, continued down the winding gallery alone. Any time she felt thoughts of sadness or stress, she found herself reflecting on her nation's history to ease her mind and heart.

Towards the end of the carpeted passageway was the grandiose foyer, in which a large, half-spherical fire pit placed before the brimming royal crest of the Hyrule ruling family. The great national symbol hung between two traditional elegant staircases, leading to a second floor level. Finally, positioned high above the ground was the vast stain glass centerpiece, spanning several feet high and wide on smooth, stone brick wall.

The woman then paused at the top of the stair to gaze upon the splendor of artistry set before her. Although she has visited the once cathedral-turned-campus building many times before, she was still awestruck by the scale and beauty of this gorgeous feat. (2) The artwork illustrated the origin story behind the _Hyrule Historia,_ spanning the many historic heroes of Hyrule old. (3)

The gleaming mosaic began with the three Golden Goddesses on top: Din, Nayru, and Farore, all shrouded in a ball of white light. Each goddess each held out their triangle piece to complete Hyrule's most sacred golden relic known as the Triforce. Below was her Grace, Hylia, the divine deity who held her hands to reach out to the triangular insignia from above. Those surrounding Hylia were the aboriginal land dwellers that bravely fought alongside the goddess and helped seal away the evil Demise that threatened the land. Towards the bottom, the circular window separated into three long round-top windows.

On the right window was a famed Hero of Time, cloaked in a green tunic as he stood in front of a forest dwelling. In his right arm was his shield and in his left was the Master Sword. To the left window was the villainous Ganon who stood upon lava and castle ruins as the sky ran red. And finally, in the middle window, was her majesty, Queen Zelda, the reincarnate of Hylia and the first monarch of what would later be known as Hyrule. She stood upon a pedestal with the castle of Ancient Hyrule behind her.

The woman took a seat on a bench nearby and stared at the central stain glass window in front of her. Even at first glance, there was a clear resemblance between the stain-glass Zelda of the past, and the prevailing Zelda who now stood before it.

No matter how much the Hylian princess wanted to ignore it, every portrait, sculpture, or mural of her ancestor was beginning to look more and more like her reflection as each day passed. And in each passing day, the burden of her supposed destiny weighed more heavily on her shoulders. A burden that every past Zelda of the royal bloodline has gone through.

A chill ran down her back, causing her to shudder a little.

Destiny.

A word that she found herself despising to her very core.

During her younger years, Zelda read all the famous legends and adventures of the Hero of Time, who fought against the treacherous king of evil, Ganondorf with the aid of the wise princess Zelda of the past. As she got older, the heiress read every bit of Hylian history and all the records, gobbling up as much information as she could about her ancestors. And yet...this summer when she brought up her growing fears about the Gerudo territory, Zelda's parents harshly disregarded her worries.

_"__Zelda, dear...why are you being so hardheaded about this? You are simply overreacting with these fantasies of yours." _

_"__Dear, _please. _Those are just fairy tales - stories that parents tell their children before bedtime. We need not worry of an invasion now; the leaders of our time don't have the money or the morale to start a war." _

_"__Zelda, I demand you drop these accusations against Ganondorf! It's not becoming of a lady like yourself..." _

She shut her eyes tight with the last memory of her parents burning in her mind. Even she surprised herself of how heated and wrapped up she got about her parents' dismissal. One side of her regrets not acting as the picturesque princess her parents dreamed of her to be. But the other side of her remained angry and hurt by her mother and father passing her off as if she was some naïve teenager and refusing to listen to her.

Zelda released a weary sigh and laid her hands to her lap. According to the official record books, every king born into the Gerudo tribe had always invaded or initiated war against the Hyrule capital, up until before the great Hyrule civil war. She was sure of it, going as far as checking several different sources multiple times. (4)

But on the other hand...

Who was she, the one who opposed the current relations with the Gerudo, to fight fate? How could Zelda send such claims when she herself did not want to do anything of her predestined fate? She, the Zelda who has yet to leave a mere scratch in history, was one to define Ganondorf of the present after all he has done for his people and the people of Nintendo-land?

It was no wonder that many still had doubted her allegations.

She didn't want to rely on some hero to come to her rescue. She didn't want to fight another war. The only thing she yearned most was to continue the years of peace and well-being for her people like her parents and grandparents have done so far.

In the end, was that too much to ask?

She looked up at her ancestors once more in bitter defiance. Although her feelings are still wounded, she knew it high time to call and apologize to her parents after giving them the cold shoulder for a few days.

_'__I won't tell them that they were right, though...'_ Zelda frowned to herself.

As for the Gerudo alliance, she was still dealing with restless, troubled feelings deep within herself. Especially now that she was an involved member of student government, there was no avoiding interaction with _him._

* * *

He woke to a start.

The sun has now set, painting the skies with pink and orange hues.

_'__That dream. Again.'_

"Oh, you're finally up now!"

"The sleepy man is awake now."

After rubbing the sleep from his eyes, the blonde sat up from the window sill to face his smiling classmates. One was known as Megaman, a young boyish android, who wore his Fils-Aime jacket over dark brown shorts and blue boots that looked too large for his feet. (5) The latter, Donkey Kong, was a large gorilla who wore only his brand name red neck-tie with a black electric collar underneath, as his school jacket draped across a few of the plastic chairs. (6) Both of them seemed fairly enthusiastic now that their band member awoke from his nap.

"Huh, Mr. No-speak-um sleeps right through most of the meeting, but then magically wakes up right before we begin our practice. Of course."

Another student, in his numbered red t-shirt and charcoal colored shorts, stood in the corner of the small room as he gave his sarcastic retort. His dog-like friend quickly scolded him. (7)

"Mayor! Don't be so rude!"

"Hmph."

She then turned over to face the Hylian and sweetly asked, "Link, thank you for waking up now, but do you mind getting your instrument out?"

The green-clad blonde nodded, giving an apologetic look towards his classmate.

"You know, you'd think his parents would've given him and his sister normal names..." Megaman whispered as he scooted over to DK.

"Pot calling the kettle black, _Megaman._ If you're going to talk about me, do it so I can't hear you next time."

"Mayor!" His fair-haired companion sighed again before pinching the bridge of her nose. "C'mon guys, let start practice so we don't miss dinner today."

"Got it, Isabelle," the android gave a mock salute, as he knew the last thing she needed was more stress. "DK's got the music sheets ready, so let's get this ball rolling."

As DK took out some paper out of his folder nearby, Link proceeded to grab the flute out of it's hard case. His mind was still rather clouded after waking from that dream again, but he set that aside to think about later. For now, he wanted to continue band practice without any further disruptions.

* * *

Early morning the next day, with partly cloudy blue skies and milder temperatures.

"Blah! Chroooooom...! I am _soooo _bored!"

Chrom gave another sigh before glaring back at his younger sister, who was sprawled across the wood table. As much as he dearly loved her, Lissa's complaining was beginning to get at his nerves, specifically this early in the day.

"Can't help you there, Liss."

"Uuuugh, why don't we have any cell service around here?" Lissa continued to whine, wiggling her legs in an unlady-like manner.

"Milady, you know exactly why we selected this route for our escorts. It was the faster and more covert than taking the main road," Frederick, their childhood mentor and bodyguard, intervened. "And you _did_ insist on coming along. We're very fortunate we are not on horseback like in the old days."

Lissa sat up straight with puffed cheeks and crossed arms. "I know, but...I really thought it was going to be more exciting! And not, like...super boring."

Chrom was thankful for Frederick's calm demeanor as his mentor tried his best to keep her entertained. He also agreed that their escort mission was growing dull, but wasn't going to admit it out loud. No longer wanting to listen to Lissa's complaints, Chrom got up from the table to stretch his legs.

From where he stood, he saw two black sedans parked on the roadside, with second car carrying the escorts inside the cab. From the outside, the students from Fils-Aime Battle School stood guard of the cars, two of which are Pokémon and one who bore the likeness of an angelic being, literally.

The bigger, lizard-like Pokémon, Charizard, was curled up asleep in the grassy field a few feet adjacent to the cars. The napping Pokémon noticeably wore a thick, black collar on his neck. Lucario, the smaller of the duo, sat cross-legged on the roof of the car and meditated quietly during their break at the rest area. Pit, the winged human, leaned next to the second car while he snacked on a granola bar and read his paperback book. Two of the cab drivers stood a couple yards away for a smoke.

Even though Chrom has had the opportunity to take on a few joint missions with the Fils-Aime school, it was always interesting to meet some of the very diverse students from Iwata's rival school. While there were students from a different kingdoms, halidoms, and nations, the Iwata student body consisted of mostly humans.

The Ylissian prince stared intently at the second car as he thought about the people he was escorting. From the mission statement he read the night before, the older couple were the former ruling king and queen of the neighboring Golden Pyramid Kingdom. As of recent, the kingdom and its people were singlehandedly taken over by one known as "Golden Diva", who successfully overthrew the ruling family and caused their only child, Princess Shokora, to go missing. (8)

In response, the Nintendo-Land government welcomed fleeing refugees and closed off exports to the Golden Pyramid until Golden Diva agreed to surrender the kingdom. According to news reports, the city council were unfortunately restricted to their neutral stance as a whole and could not offer much more to the runaway king and queen aside from political asylum within their borders. Since then, the city's Justice Force arranged a "mission" for Fils-Aime students to sign up for: escort the once-royal monarch from the waterfront to their place of safety outside the city and protect them from any suspicious enemies up the mountain pass and through "bandit" territory.

Due to Chrom's connection to the Shepherds, he and his small accompaniment served as representatives of Ylisse, and by extension, a supporting presence from the overarching rulers of United Archanea. (9) By his elder sister's orders, Emmeryn persisted that this mission was vital in terms of Ylisse's public relations and urged Chrom to step up as a leader.

Logically, he had no argument against the matter. Though, he did secretly yearned for a little more action than just riding along on a road trip through the forested mountain pass, since he, Frederick, and Lissa wore their battle uniforms and packed their weapons just in case. (10) Of course, Emmeryn wouldn't exactly be in line of his thinking.

He rode with the escorts at the beginning of the trip, which was rather uncomfortable to sit beside the tired, tear-filled couple who were still grieving over their child. He and his sister were sympathetic, but clueless in consoling the mourning parents. Perchance after the break, he thought to ask the Fils-Aime students if they could switch cars.

"Hey Chrom! Whatcha' doing?"

Startled out of his thoughts, Chrom turned around to see Lissa bounding behind him.

"Just thinking about taking a small walk through the trail before we get back on the road. I think it would be wise to get some fresh air before we're in the car for a few hours."

"Can I come with? I'm really bored and I'm tired of hearing how much Frederick hates wolves and bear meat." (11)

Chrom laughed, pitying Frederick for a moment. "Sure, why not. We're not going to go too far, I don't want to worry the rest of the crew."

"Milord!" Frederick, who was not too far behind, called out. "Please allow me follow. I cannot afford for anything bad happening to both of you out here."

The three made their way side by side on a semi-paved trail through the wooded trees. For a few minutes, Lissa talked about how her classes were going so far and Chrom mentioned a few tidbits and funny stories from his time at the barracks with Frederick listening silently from behind. It wasn't long when wave of quietness settled and the group simply enjoyed each others company and the tranquil nature around them.

Within a few minutes, the trio stumbled into another lush clearing, where one lone oak tree stood atop a small hill in the distance.

"I think it is time we should head back, milord," Frederick advised.

Chrom nodded, and turned around to head back to the rest area when suddenly, Lissa points to the tree and exclaims,

"Wait! I think I see something over there!"

"Hmm?" Chrom looked uncertainly at Lissa.

"Up over there!" Before the two men could stop her, Lissa ran through the thick grass and made her way towards the hill.

"Lissa! Lissa, wait up!"

"Milord!"

The two finally caught up to the Ylissian princess, who stopped at the top of the hill.

"Lissa, what is the meaning of thi – "

Chrom's words caught in his throat when he looked over Lissa's shoulder and saw a young, pink-haired girl lying at the trunk of the tree. Worried that his sister stumbled upon a dead body, he walked closer and to his relief, saw she was still breathing with only a slight wound on her temple. Upon further inspection, he noticed the stranger wearing a dark purple hooded coat that looked very similar to Plegian clothes. (12) The morning dew was present on the woman's clothes and hair, which led him to presume this woman was left here overnight or for longer.

"Chrom, we have to do _something." _Lissa pleaded.

He turned to his sister who was also hovering above the injured girl. "What do you propose we do?"

"Ah...I don't know..."

A small noise was heard from the ground, in which both immediately looked at the source. There, the mysterious girl blinked open her eyes, now awake from her deep slumber.

"Oh. I see that you're awake now," Chrom said, kneeling next to the woman.

"..."

"Hey there," Lissa smiled cheerfully, careful not to frighten or disturb the drowsy woman.

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know," Chrom extended an open palm to help pull the stranger up. "Give me your hand."

Gracious for their kindness, the girl silently took his hand and, for a moment, didn't realize how close she got to his face until she was up on her feet. She quickly looked down and backed up, Chrom assumed, out of courtesy.

"You all right?" Chrom asked. He glanced at her head wound for a moment, which was fortunately only a swollen bruise with no bleeding.

"Y-Yes..." she paused for a second. "Thank you, Chrom."

Chrom couldn't hide his surprised expression. While he wasn't exactly a nameless figure, he didn't expect a random stranger, in the forest no less, to recognize him immediately. But judging from the clothes...

"Ah, then you know who I am?"

"No, actually - I... It's strange..." the Plegian stumbled with her words. "Your name, it just...came to me..."

Lissa tilted her head and blinked in confusion while Chrom rubbed his chin.

"Hmm...how curious. Tell me, what's your name? What brings you here?"

"My name is..." the woman brow suddenly furrowed, almost in a frustrated look as if she was trying to recall something once forgotten. "It's...hmmm...?"

"...you don't remember your own name?"

She sighed, sounding more embarrassed than perplexed. "I'm not sure if...I'm sorry, but where am I, exactly?"

"Hey, I've heard of this!" Lissa pointed out. "It's called amnesia!"

"It's called a load of pegasus dung."

Frederick finally broke his silence, walking forward and sternly facing towards the pink-haired teen.

"We're to believe you remember milord's name, but not your own?"

"B-But it's the truth!" she stammered.

"...what if it _is_ true, Frederick?" Chrom came to her defense before moving over to pull Frederick aside. The two girls looked at each, and then at the boys as the two men spoke out of ear shot momentarily. Once again, Chrom began walking back.

"Right then—we'll take her back to the resting area and sort this out there," Chrom decided. "We can't forget our mission at hand."

"Wait just one moment," the stranger hesitated, backing away and raising her hands. "Do I have a say in this?"

Chrom gave a friendly smirk. "Peace, friend—I promise we'll hear all you have to say back in town. Now come."

* * *

"What will you do with me? Am I to be your prisoner?"

The group traveled on the path back to the rest area in silence before the stranger decided to speak up. While she still looked unsure, there was a flickering fire of courage behind those eyes as she refused to be captured by potential enemies.

"Hah!" Chrom couldn't help but chuckle at the sheer idea of him taking someone hostage. "You'll be free to go once we establish that you're no enemy of Ylisse, or Nintendo-Land for that matter."

"Is that where we are? Ylisse?"

"You've never heard of the halidom?" Frederick asked incredulously before giving a callous laugh. "Ha! Someone pay this actor. She plays quite the fool! The furrowed brow is especially convincing…"

"Frederick, please," Chrom frowned and rolled his eyes before turning back to the unnamed woman. "This land is known as Nintendo-Land. As for Ylisse..."

The group continued the tread down the trail as Chrom began to explain in further detail the land of his origin and their head leader known as the Exalt. He included some information about their current location, Nintendo-Land, and the major city all three are staying at time being. The woman listened intently, earnestly nodding and taking in everything Chrom said.

_'__If what Frederick said is true,'_ Chrom thought to himself. _'She's playing the part to the T.'_

He then turned and pointed to his younger sister. "I suppose proper introductions are in order - the delicate one here is my little sister, Lissa."

"I am _not _delicate!" Lissa kicked at Chrom's shin, causing him to wince. "…hmph! Ignore my brother, please. He can be a bit thick sometimes. But you're lucky us Shepherds found you. Brigands would've been a rude awakening!"

"Shepherds? You tend sheep?" the Plegian asked, then after glancing at their wear, "...in full armor?"

"Heh, it's a dangerous job," Chrom held back a laugh, as it could be interpreted as rude to the woman. He then pointed his thumb his bodyguard and said, "Just ask Frederick the Wary here."

Frederick instead simply held his head high, unperturbed by the given nickname.

"A title I shall wear with pride. Gods forbid one of us keeps an appropriate level of caution. I have every wish to trust you, stranger, but my station mandates otherwise."

"I understand, sir. I would do no less myself."

The woman then stopped on the path, causing the rest of the group to stop and heed attention to her.

"My name is Robin," she blankly stated, as if her mind just received a text message. "…I just now remembered that. How odd. I suppose that's one mystery solved."

"Robin?" Chrom repeated. "Is that foreign? …Ah, well. We can discuss it later. We're almost to the rest stop. Once we —"

"Chrom!"

The group immediately stopped at opening which led to the resting area, as Pit came running towards them and was virtually out of breath.

"Thank the gods I found you all! We've been looking all over for you!"

Lissa gasped aloud, looking ahead of the roadway. "Chrom, look! The town!"

The group rushed out of the trail and looked above the forested area, only to see billowing clouds of smoke and fire lighting up the once clear skies.

_'__That's too close and much too big to be a controlled burn! That means the town...!'_ Chrom immediately looked over to the cars, seeing Charizard up and raring for battle, Lucario similarly in his fighting stance.

"Damn it! The town is ablaze! Those blasted brigands, no doubt..." Chrom quickly thought on his feet and sprang into action, shouting out his orders.

"Pit, you and Charizard take to the skies and bring down any bandits you see. Only aim for the brigands and thieves so you don't bring any harm to the villagers."

"Got it!" Pit, armed with his bow and arrows, dashed off with the reptilian Pokémon before zooming off into the air.

"Lucario, make sure the drivers and the escorts stay inside the cab and defend it at all costs. Make sure no one gets close to the king and queen."

Lucario nodded and ran straight towards the cars.

"Frederick, Lissa – " he readied himself with his Falchion at hand. " - come with me, we'll attack on the ground and take them out on foot."

"What about her?" Frederick asked as Chrom and Lissa took off running.

"Unless she's on fire as well, it can wait!" Chrom yelled back.

"Frederick, let's go already!" Lissa urged, sprinting to keep in pace with her brother.

"Well then. Aptly put, milord," Frederick respond straight faced, before following the Yllisian heirs.

"But what about —" Robin, who barely kept up with what was going on, simply stood in place with her mouth slightly ajar. "Hmm..."

She thought deeply for a moment, debating her options and the next course of action. In the given situation, Robin could just run off free now that Chrom and his group were distracted. However...she felt her heart tugging towards the troubled village folk. Even if fighting off brigands and saving the town wasn't her responsibility, her inner moral being couldn't just ignore the townspeople's cries for help. Innocent lives were now at stake, and she couldn't bare to stand there and do nothing about it.

Once she stood firm in her decision, Robin nodded to herself and ran off towards the direction of the village ahead. She did have to prove her usefulness to someone after all.

* * *

**To be continued...**

* * *

**Author's Note: **

Hello again, readers!

I finally got another update up! Woohoo! I was very tempted to procrastinate and just update next weekend, but I was like, "NO! I must stay true to my word! Even if I update at midnight, it is no matter!" After pulling all my teeth out, I finally did it! *weak cheer*

Anyways, I'm very happy at being able to churn this chapter out when I could. I will admit, I was partially inspired by _Super Smash Bros: Hands Of Fate _by _Gearhead96_. I loved how the Mayor (Villager) had a sarcastic, blunt, and funny personality - so much that it inspired me to continue writing him this way in my story. If you get the chance to read this story, I highly recommend it!

As for other characters, I will say that Link will be written as mute for this story. Nothing against authors who decide to give Link dialogue, but for me personally, since he doesn't talk in the games, I thought it would be a little odd for him to have a speaking role. In the mean time, he will simply be a selective mute person and have different ways of communicating with others.

As for Robin's character, she will not be based off of myself – it's not unheard of, as you can customize and personalize Avatar as your own character, but my interpretation of Robin is that she has her own unique personality and characteristics that will come about later on. As for right now, she is a little bit of a blank slate, as she has no memories of her past. This will come into play later on as the story progresses.

In the mean time, I did choose her pink-haired color palette as her physical appearance in this story. I based her looks on this image: (image link provided on blog in my profile). I hope to put this image, plus other ones up on the official blog that I will post up sometime soon.

As for the Fils-Aime Battle School students, here is what we have so far!

Fils-Aime Battalion School:

**First Years: **Link, Little Mac, Megaman, Olimar

**Second Years: **Pit, Samus, Ike, Mayor (Villager), Isabelle

**Third Years: **Meta Knight, Kirby

**Fourth Years: **Donkey Kong

**Graduates: **Captain Falcon, Solid Snake

I will probably add more once I begin introducing more characters. If you are wondering why the last scene may sound familiar, I did pull some dialogue from _Fire Emblem: Awakening, _with a little bit of tweaking to fit in with the writing_._ While I will say that there will be other scenes that are inspired by in-game cutscenes, this won't be a repetitive trend in my story, as I want to keep in original content as much as I can.

This chapter had quite a bit heavy on the game lore exposition: if you're a big fan of Legend of Zelda, it's not a big deal. But if you don't know much about Legend of Zelda, I'll try to write in a way that isn't confusing!

If you have any suggestions or any prying questions, let me know in the reviews! I'll continually update, this chapter (as I may or may not had a lot of time in the editing process *cough*) and later update my profile in terms of release dates and extra resources.

And one last bit before this after note get way too long - I just published my first four chapters, and I'm unsure whether or not I should keep going with this story? I apologize again for the slow start - the first few chapters will seem a bit slice of life as I introduce everyone before I get the plot ball rolling. I _am_ a poor judge of my writing ability and if people are still interested, but if people still want me to keep posting, I will!

**\- A. Mitsuni**

* * *

**Index:**

(1) Emmeryn is Chrom's older sister from Fire Emblem: Awakening. Similarly in game, she serves as the Exalt, or leader, of the continent nation of Ylisse and holds a seat in the Nintendo-Land's city council.

(2) In early city of Nintendo-Land a few centuries ago, the Hyrule royal family, along with United Archanea, Ylisse, Lycia, and Mushroom Kingdom, set the foundation of what would later become Iwata Academy. Because of this, a Hylian cathedral was donated to the school as a way to expand the campus. Later on during the modern era, the cathedral was later remodeled to house classrooms for the growing student body. The stain-glass art remained intact throughout the renovating process.

(3) _The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia_ is a 274-page book released by Nintendo, featuring official Zelda artwork as well as the history of the Zelda universe. In this universe, _Hyrule Historia_ is the official history text, recording all the historical events of the Hyrule realm.

(4) In this universe: according to many of the Hylian historians, there were various legends and tales of the courageous Hero of Time and his successors stem from every reincarnation of wise Zelda and the treacherous Ganon, which happened every few centuries. Then, a long and bloody civil war that plagued the land and lasted for many years up until current Zelda's great grandfather finally stopped the bloodshed during his reign. Once again, peace was restored and the many races and tribes of Hyrule were careful to not set off another war and burden the next generation. With nearly a century of reconciliation among the tribes, much of the modern royal family has long forgotten the relevancy of tales of the Hero of Time.

(5) Megaman's casual outfit is based off of this image: (image link provided on blog in my profile)

(6) Since Pokémon have a spoken language that is only understood amongst themselves, Pokémon trainers were set in place to provide communication between Pokémon and students and teachers in the battle school. Later in the modern age, Fils-Aime Battle School issued electronic communicative devices to Pokémon, then later students who did not speak Earthanian language (the common tongue in Earthania). This device wrapped around the neck (almost like a collar or bracelet), and helped translate brain waves into Earthanian speech, making communication within the school much easier. While most Pokémon and a few students are provided and use these collar devices daily, there are a select few students who opt out of using the collar (e.g. Link, Lucario, Mewtwo).

(7) Isabelle is a major character from _Animal Crossing: New Leaf_. She made her debut as the Mayor's eager, although sometimes scatterbrained secretary. A little clueless, but hardworking nonetheless, Isabelle tries to do anything to please the mayor.

(8) Princess Shokora is the true ruler of the Golden Pyramid and the damsel in distress in the game, _Wario Land 4_.

(9) In this story's universe, United Archanea is currently ruled by Marth's family, the house of Altea. United Archanea's power and influence reaches to other nations, including the "Fire Emblem" nations: Ylisse, Lycia, and Crimea. Nonetheless, these lands were once under United Archanea territory until granted independence in the modern era. While every nation is allowed their own independent government, United Archanea, technically by law, has the power to override the given government and retain control over the kingdom if need be. Fortunately, that has not been a case for several centuries as most of the nations at hand have experienced a period of peace and prosperity with the exception of the few skirmishes between other neighboring nations.

(10) Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick are dressed in their battle attire shown in _Fire Emblem: Awakening _respectively.

(11) According to _Fire Emblem: Awakening_ support conversations, Frederick was attacked by a wolf in his younger years, as well as carry a strong dislike of bear meat.

(12) Plegia is a smaller neighboring country on the Ylisse continent, bordering next to the Ylisse nation. In this current time, Exalt Emmeryn had ended a long and terrible war between the two countries and strove towards the path of peace.

**EDIT: **Fixed misspelling and wording. Fixed more wording. Deleted unnecessary words. Punctuation and misplaced wording. Index and author note edit. More wording. Punctuation. Wording. Continuity issues. Spelling error.


	5. Chapter Five: Incalescent

**Chapter 5: **Incalescent

* * *

**Incalescent:** (English) (adj.)_ growing hotter or more ardent; set ablaze. _

* * *

It wasn't long until Pit and Charizard approached the source of the fire from the skies. Once safely landing on the roofing of an isolated bell tower, the two finally noticed the real cause of the screams and billowing smoke. Several of the buildings and small houses were burning black, and soon the distressed cries of help came from the mountain folk below.

"This looks real bad, Charizard," Pit turned to his partner. "We've gotta help those people before the whole village burns down!"

Soon enough, men armed with axes, swords, and spears came marching through the town, chopping down villagers and torching houses as they went. The sheer sight of these monsters cruelly taking innocent lives sent Pit's heart racing in rage and anger.

"Change of plans, Charizard," Pit lowered his voice as he drew out his sacred bow and nocked an arrow of light in place. "Let's go kick some ass!"

Charizard roared in reply, right before diving down towards the nearest cluster of bandits with Pit chasing his tail.

On the ground running, Chrom and his company rushed down the dirt path leading towards the town entrance before hearing fierce roar echo in the distance, along with brilliant flashes of light.

"Sounds like the others made it to town already," Chrom commented, looking at the ashy sky.

"Chrom! We have to stop them!" Lissa begged from behind, standing firm with her healing staff in hand. By her side, Frederick stoically nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry," the Ylissian prince hardened his expression and his grip on Falchion. "After today, these bandits won't be bothering anyone ever again…"

"Chrom, wait!"

Suddenly, an unexpected voice called out from behind them.

The trio of Ylissians turned their heads over where, to their surprise, Robin stood. The Pleagian was slightly hurried and out of breath from sprinting, but nevertheless, ready to follow them into battle.

"Robin?! You followed us?" Chrom looked at her shocked, yet intrigued. "But...why?"

"I – uh...I'm not so certain myself," Robin began, eyes looking down for a moment in fleeting hesitation, before looking up with a determined resolve. "I don't know much, but all I know is this - it's the right thing to do to help others in need. I'm armed, and I think I still remember my way around a fight. If you'll have me, of course."

Frederick looked on with curious uncertainty while Lissa grinned and nodded encouragingly.

"Of course—strength in numbers," Chrom finally decided with a smile, this time eyes brimming with trust for his newfound ally. "Just follow my lead and stay close!"

"Remember, Robin, we've faced thieves and murderers before," Frederick gave one last warning to the tactician. "They will grant us no quarter. It's kill or be killed. I cannot guarantee that you'll come out of this unscathed."

"Don't worry, Frederick," Robin replied with a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. "If you all are willing to trust me, I've got a plan to take these guys down..."

* * *

Back in the village, the two Fils-Aime students began their aerial assault on the thieves and bandits running the town amok. Charizard charged up his attack before unleashing a powerful Dragon Rush on the enemies below, ripping apart the horde of enemy swordsman and barbarians and clearing a path for the people of the town to escape.

Pit ran across the clay tiled rooftops, dropping down from the ledges and letting loose a flurry of luminescent arrows on the any scattered bandits who narrowly escaped Charizard's fiery dash. Pit's well-aimed arrows mercilessly took out any hostile thieves who preyed upon the helpless women, children, and elderly townspeople. For those who came at close quarters quickly felt the brunt end of his Angel Ring spin attack from his bow, clearing through enemy grunts by the waves.

"Not so 'tuff now, are ya'?" Pit yelled as he felled another brutish bandit with another slash attack, "This is what you get for hurting these poor people!"

Charizard clawed at the many enemies surrounding him before flying up in the air and pummeling the ground again with another explosive charge at the brigands too slow to recover. Most enemy units were knocked into fallen stone walls or off into the flowing town waterways. As tempting as it would to take out enemies with his flame thrower, Charizard knew his fiery attacks would only fuel the flames in the town and potentially injure the helpless villagers.

But just as it seemed the area around them was cleared with much of the bandits driven out, a small hail of arrows sprung out from behind a brick divider, taking both Pit and Charizard by the surprise from the well-hidden trap.

The angelic fighter danced and dodged most of the arrows raining down at the last second, up until he was struck down by a one to the shoulder.

"Ack...!"

Charizard managed to knock down any remaining fighters with strong tail whip before breaking away and catching Pit before he hit the ground. Realizing the danger of his wounded partner on the ground, the hefty reptilian spread his wings up and flew away from the fray.

"Thanks buddy. I...shoulda' been a bit more careful," Pit said with a groan, gingerly touching at the arrow that was now embedded into his left shoulder.

_"__Are you alright?"_ A automated voice buzzed from Charizard's electronic collar. Upon a quick inspection, the wood arrow only seemed to puncture an inch or so through his school jacket and simple armor, but nothing more than that. A shallow non-threatening wound for a veteran who has faced fights in the past, but a painful inconvenience nevertheless.

"I think so. Let's land somewhere safe just so I can get take care of this."

Within a few minutes, Charizard landed next to a sheltered spot behind a stone house and placed Pit on the ground. Pit pulled out his healing items to quickly tend to his wound while Charizard shielded his friend with his wing. Yet, their respite was cut short as it wasn't long until the duo heard more screams and shouts for help resounding from the town hall.

"There's still more bandits at the town center!" Pit fumed. "Charizard, you have to go help the townspeople!"

The fire-breathing Pokémon gave him a worried look towards his bloodied shoulder which was now bandaged in gauze.

"Oh, don't worry about me! I've still got one good arm, that's more than enough to teach these fools a lesson," Pit said with a valiant swing of his bow. "Now, get those good-for-nuthin' thieves before it's too late!"

Giving one more cautious glance, Charizard finally nodded and flew over to the town square.

A kilometer or two across town, Chrom and his company reached the west gates of the village entrance. On their location, numerous houses and store buildings were vacant with the dirt roads and alleyways now deserted, with the exception for mangled bodies of defeated bandits tossed to the side. The booming sound of weapons clashing and villagers running for their lives resonated from the epicenter of the town.

"Looks like Pit and Charizard took care of this part of town," Chrom gathered after observing the rubble left behind. "But now it seems that the bandits are driven back into the main plaza area."

"Remember to stick with the plan," Robin turned to face the group, not faltering for a second to take firm control over the situation.

"Frederick, Lissa – go take the paths on the outskirts of the town and focus on gathering all the civilians out of harm's way. Make a protective perimeter around the town so no enemy reinforcements from the outside can enter the town."

"Understood."

"Let's do this!"

"Chrom and I will rendezvous with the others at the town center and take out their leader, along with the rest of the bandits. Since they are running low in numbers, I'm certain they will be pushed to retreat or surrender once you cut the head leader of the operation."

"Got it," Chrom responded, giving his full support to their decisive tactician.

"Frederick, make sure to not let any bandits escape into the woods. Keep a hawk's eye out of any who will inevitably try to sneak away."

A nod of affirmation from the great knight.

"And Lissa," Robin turned to the cleric. "Stay close behind Frederick, he'll cover for you if there is any trouble. Use your restoring heal on my mark, alright?"

"Alright!" Lissa pumped her fist in the air. "Those jerk-bags won't know what hit 'em!"

"Now, let's move on out!" Chrom gave one last nod before the group parted ways.

* * *

Chrom and Robin took to one of the flagstone alleyways, cutting through most of the residential housing and emptying into the town square.

"Are you doing all right, Robin?" Chrom took a sharp right before running down the narrow passageway, Robin following close behind. "Remember, don't rush into danger."

"I'm fine, Chrom," Robin reassured, making sure to avoid some of the wreckage that littered their path. "Don't worry about me."

"You've lent us your strength, and that makes you a friend," Chrom gave a sideways glance before confidently grinning again. "Having an ally like you by my side gives me courage."

"Oh," Robin felt a bit of heat rise to her face. "...thank you."

The remaining bandits who escaped Pit and Charizard's initial attacks now had all gathered at the cobblestone plaza, resuming their pillaging and plundering of the town's valuables and prized possessions.

Their thieving ways were short-lived, as it wasn't long before the hotheaded Pokémon came crashing down from the clouds and began another round of Dragon Rushes against the adversaries. Although this time around, enemy brigands were heavily armed and ready, unwilling to go down as easily as before.

Even with Charizard's mighty and explosive strength, there were too many bandits all at once for winged reptile to keep up with. His toughened scales were now reeling back from enemy smashing attacks, who now had united all their efforts to take him down. Charizard fought hard to shake off the bandits and free himself from the rising horde, but even with all his enduring strength, he was no match for the overwhelming numbers.

Just as he was falling back, a flash of a navy-haired figure leapt from behind him and into the skirmish, managing to cut through the crowd of surrounding assailants with his blade.

"Good work, Charizard," Chrom sliced through barrage of bandits with ease, releasing Charizard from the swarm. "These brigands will be no match for both of us! Now let's finish this."

The powerful Falchion in sync with his hands, Chrom readied himself with the onslaught of enemies before him.

_"__Dancing blade...!" _(1)

Chrom dove into the crowd of bandits and cut down every one of them with one smooth motion sweep. The Pokémon, now released from his earlier bind, flew straight up back into the air, taking down enemy archers once again with his diving blitz.

_"__Arcthunder...!"_

Robin, at the rear of the fray, sent out a burst of electricity from her hands, knocking out any and all bandits in her line of vision. With three healthy combatants against low skilled grunts on the battlefield, the tide started to turn to the heroes' favor once more.

That is, before a hulking figure from the shadows came thundering into the front line and blocked Chrom's razor edge with his own bronze sword.

"Here, sheepy-sheepy!" the big-nosed barbarian drawled. "Come to the slaughter!"

"Huh," Chrom jumped back in surprise and mild annoyance. "So there are some of you lot who know how to wield a blade."

The bear of a man only spat in reply as he charged at the prince once more. The two fighters unleashed a flurry of strikes at one another, but they were too evenly matched in caliber for either to land a finishing blow.

"Charizard! Keep the rest of them at bay, this one will to take awhile," Chrom barked through gritted teeth, sidestepping out of the way before parrying the sharpened strike. Charizard responded with a demolishing Rock Smash, sending bits of rock and brick sections flying down and creating a solid divider between the duel and the rest of the ravagers.

The two continued exchanging blows, Chrom's stamina slowly wearing by the pressure from the brute's raw, endless strength, but his sheer will kept his momentum up. Soon enough, the two men bounded back after meeting clash after clash at the center. Both covered in small cuts and bruises at a stalemate, but neither willing to back down.

Suddenly, a stray arrow from the enemy sidelines was shot over the rock wall and pierced the ground next to Chrom, grazing his right calf. The bluenette stumbled back, hissing from the stinging pain.

The bandit leader, once realizing Chrom was distracted, quickly took to the advantage and charged at the unsuspecting Ylissian. Chrom managed to duck away from the bronze blade, but not without facing the punishing force of the body slam pummel into his torso. The bandit's tackle promptly knocked the wind out of Chrom and scattered Falchion a few feet away.

"Now, you're done for!" the brigand leader laughed maniacally before raising his sword to strike down the helpless royal one last time.

_"__Thoron!"_

Just as he was about to deliver the deathblow, an electrical spark ignited the air seconds before a massive bolt of lightning struck the ruthless boss through the chest. The muscled bandit fell to the ground in a resounding thud, now nothing but a charred husk in a smoky aftermath. Chrom stared in disbelief before looking up to see his savior perched above the rock wall, a magic tome steaming in hand.

"Sorry to interrupt your duel," Robin closed her book and pocketed it with a smirk, "But it looked like someone needed to tip the scales."

Chrom just shook his head as Robin made her way down the rocky landslide and helped him to his feet.

"Thanks for the save. I don't think that would have ended well if you hadn't shown up," Chrom sighed as he brushed off the dirt from his clothes. He mumbled to himself something about needing to practice more, but Robin didn't quite hear it.

"I'm glad I could help. Now it seems that there's only a few of these dastards left," Robin said, looking over to the remaining outlaws who were now scurrying out of the plaza, a raging Charizard hot on their heels.

"You're certainly no helpless victim, that much is for sure," Chrom straightened up and went over to retrieve his Falchion abandoned on the ground. "Now, let's make sure the others made it out alright."

"...nngh!"

The pig-tailed strategist wobbled forward as pain shot straight to her head, clutching her wounded temple before dropping to her knees. Chrom was largely caught off-guard, but not before catching Robin when she crumpled onto the floor.

"Robin...?!" Chrom knelt on the ground and gently shook Robin's shoulders to wake her from her spell, but any sign of consciousness was nowhere to be seen. "Speak to me! Robin...!"

"Milord!"

He snapped out of his momentary panic to see Frederick and Lissa jogging towards him; both looked rather roughed up from the fight, but nonetheless alive and unharmed.

"The civilians are out of harm's way and most, if not all the bandits, have been defea – " the armored knight abruptly stopped once upon the sight of Robin in Chrom's arms. " – is she...?"

"Oh no!" Lissa immediately exclaimed, pushing Frederick to the side. "Is Robin dead?!"

"No, no," Chrom quickly answered, getting back to his feet and carried the fainted Robin bridal-style. "She was doing just fine after we defeated the brigand leader, but suddenly passed out for no apparent reason. She's breathing, but she'll need medical attention as soon as we take care of everything in the town."

Frederick opened his mouth to argue, but then decided against it. "Understood, milord."

"Well then, it's great to hear that everyone is okay!" Pit's voice rang from above.

With that, the winged brunette hovered and landed in front of the group, Charizard following in suit. Even with his left arm lying limp to his side, Pit was his chipper self now that the heroes have won the brief encounter.

"Called emergency services and back-up once I got signal," Pit explained. "So now, the Justice Force and city fire department should be here in no time. Lucario and the escorts are just half a mile back, thankfully without a scratch."

Chrom nodded. "Thank you, Pit."

"What in blue blazes is going on here?!"

A loud voice boomed from the back along with sirens from incoming fire brigade went off. The group turned to see one of the lead officers of the Justice Force, Captain Falcon, reporting in for investigation and arrest. The city's fire and rescue units now flooded the town to extinguish the flames and care for the injured townsfolk.

From the looks of his casual attire and somewhat irate expression, Falcon was presumably off-duty when called to investigate the burning mountain town. Pit whispered a "that was fast" to Charizard before Chrom interjected.

"Captain, I will explain everything that happened, but first, my friend here has fainted and needs to see a doctor right now."

Falcon studied the Iwata student for a moment, before heaving a sigh and swiftly motioning the group to follow him.

"Follow me. I'll take all of you over to medical services to get taken cared of before questioning."

* * *

_(play/pause) _**SONG: **Iphone SMS Ring Tone **ARTIST: **Unknown _(stop)_

* * *

**SONIC: **(10:00 AM MMS ) (Subject: NoSubject) hey guys its Sonic! Don't forget our mandatory dorm meeting at the lounge 3 today!

**LINK: **(10:03 AM MMS) got it

**MAYOR: **(10:04 AM MMS) ok

**IKE:** (10:06 AM MMS) cool

**DIDDY KONG: **(10:08 AM MMS) k

**LITTLE MAC: **(10:12 AM MMS) kk

**PIT:** (11:35 AM MMS) just got cell service. soooo sorry guys, but I got hurt during our mission today. :'-( don't think i'll make it

**SONIC: **(12:07 PM MMS) oh jeez, sry to hear that. just send me a text and we'll meet up later. get well!

**IKE: **(12:22 PM MMS) wat happened?

**PIT: **(12:23 PM MMS) just got hit by an arrow, no biggie. At urgent care atm.

**IKE: **(12:23 PM MMS) whoa i didnt think the mission was THAT dangerous. is everyone ok?

**MAYOR: **(12:24 PM MMS) ok STOP RESPONDING TO THE GROUP TEXT I DONT CARE :^[

**PIT: **(12:25 PM MMS) wow haha ok!

* * *

"...34..."

Huff.

"...35..."

Huff.

"...36..."

In between Little Mac's counts, soft guitar strumming was played from the top bunk. With both Ike and Mac finished with classes, the two relaxed in their dorm room, with the champion boxer doing crunches on the side of his bed while Ike tuned and tested his acoustic guitar from above. Both focused on their leisurely tasks until a light knocking was heard from the door.

"I got it."

Little Mac hopped up from the ground and opened the door, revealing a green-hoodied Link. Link simply pointed his thumb behind him, signaling towards the elevator and staircases. Mac glanced at the clock on the wall, which read about five til 3 o'clock.

"Oh right. The meeting," he responded. Link nodded before turning towards the stairs. Behind him, others on the floor headed the same direction.

"Ike, time to go," Little Mac called out as he reached for his school jacket that hung from his desk chair. His roommate murmured "yep" in reply and jumped from his bunk after setting his guitar aside. The duo made their way down the hall and down the stairs, following the groups of boys who, too, herded towards the Wolfgang lounge.

Mayor rested his face with his palm, looking disinterested from the couch while Kirby laid out on the other side, fast asleep. Olimar quietly squeezed through the crowd, excusing his Pikmin who trailed behind him. Link leaned against the wall with arms crossed, and Ike and Little Mac both stood at the tight ends of the lounge. The growing pack of males were already sitting or standing in the lodging area, the room bubbling with casual conversations and lively small talk before the head Resident Assistant called for attention.

"Alright guys," the blue hedgehog amplified his voice with his hands to his mouth. "Huddle in real close, we're among friends, haha!"

The crowd of men scooted closer towards the base of the furnace, gathering around the three RAs.

"Hey everyone!" he began. "I know we all have busy schedules, so let's keep this short and get through this meeting as fast as possible! I'm from the bottom level A-hall, and in case you haven't gotten a chance to meet me, Sonic's the name, speed's my game!"

He gave a thumbs up, then laughed when he overheard a few chuckles, as well as one or two groans from the group.

"This here is Donkey Kong from C-hall," he gestured to his right, DK waved to the crowd, "And over here is Meta Knight from B-hall," he gestured to his left as the short, caped figure simply nodded to the group. (2)

"We're all resident assistants in Wolfgang, but for the most part, I'll be the head RA that talks to administration if anything comes up. Even still, these two are equally your leaders in their designated floor, so don't think you can just get away with anything just because I personally don't catch you! I expect you all to give the same amount of respect to these guys as you would to me, ya' hear?"

A scattered amount of nods and yes'es were heard.

"Now, with introductions out of the way, we'll jump through these rules real quick," Sonic continued, one hand on his hip, the other skimming through a given checklist. "Within all residential halls, there isn't a curfew enforced per se, but we _do_ have quiet hours that begin at 10 PM and ends by 9 AM the next morning during weekdays. As for visitor guidelines..."

Little Mac kept his eyes forward and ears open to listen to head RA go over the dorm rules, but he couldn't help his mind from wandering. Or specifically, a certain problem that has been itching at the back of his head lately, at least ever since he reunited with an old friend the week prior.

* * *

_Last Saturday night._

_Most of the Fils-Aime students, both incoming or returning, were either off living it up before the new school year, or out enjoying the free food and drink at the orientation barbeque out on the field. With the weather all cleared up and warming the early evening air, this left the majority of the campus buildings and dormitory halls generally quiet and empty for the time being._

_However, there was one exception held for a certain fitness facility. _

_While fireworks lit up the starry sky and dazzled the onlookers from below, Little Mac had other plans - none of which meant attending the evening spectacle. He felt a twinge of guilt, hoping the girl he met earlier at registration wasn't waiting for him to show up for the BBQ. But right now, he couldn't pass up this moment he waited a few months for. _

_Mac winced at the slight moan that arose when he opened the door ajar and peeked inside. There, in the dim-lit center, was reminiscent of his old training gym from his hometown. A little more up kept and less run down, but feelings of nostalgia flooded his senses. Various sports equipment were stowed away in the corner, with a few large bags of boxing gear strewn around. Nearby were a few cardio and weight lifting machines, with a few sandbags hung about. At the very center was an empty boxing ring, shadowed by the only source of light coming from a small office at the side. A faint news report from the radio droned from the office. _

_Upon closer look, Little Mac grinned as he saw through the window pane a familiar face in the same old red sweater, currently busying himself with some paperwork and memos on his desktop. He kept quiet until he reached for the partly open door. _

_"__Knock, knock?" _

_The old coach looked up for a moment, taking in a few seconds to register that his old prodigy was standing before him. __Despite his age, Doc eagerly leapt from his chair like a child in a candy store. _

_"Y-you..." the older man shakily pointed at Little Mac before grabbing his shoulders for a tight hug. "...you sly devil sonovagun!" _

_Both let out a hearty laugh before embracing. Even after what felt like years, the two still held on to their close knit bond. _

_"My boy...what are you doing on this side of the planet?" Doc clapped Mac's back before turning on the light switch, lighting up the rest of the fitness center. _

_"Last I heard, you were off breaking hearts of reigning champions in the circuit," the coach lightheartedly nudged his former student, "Was dreaming someday you'd help out in the new boxing club we have here – you'd be a great fit for some of the fresh recruits."_

_The boxing champion shrugged nonchalantly and leaned over to the edge of the boxing ring, hands behind his head. "Thought after I won the title in the international league, I would be up for a new challenge," he boldly stated, throwing a few jabs in the air. "So I applied for Fils-Aime, hoping to beat the best of the best." _

_He looked over at his old mentor with pride, but was a little taken aback when he was met with a more thoughtful, serious expression. _

_"__Listen kid, you have made me one the proudest I've ever been in my life, but you see, the tournament is a whole 'nother ball game altogether," Doc took out a candy bar from his pocket and took a large bite into it. "It takes more than just luck and pushing out punches to take out some the guys I've seen in this here tourney. Heck, some of 'em are on a completely different level." _

_Little Mac stood quiet for a moment, unsure what to say next. Doc Louis then patted him on the shoulder. "C'mon now, don't hear me wrong, kid. I'm not saying you should give up, not ever," Doc poked Mac square on the chest. "I'm just saying ya' gotta learn some new skills to get into the tournament. Some of 'em I can't even teach ya'."_

_Mac chuckled, feeling a little reassured, but the seed of doubt took root into his mind. Trying to brush off the lingering uncertainty, he changed the subject. _

_"__So...how'd you end up here of all places?" _

_Doc chuckled, tossing over a Snickers bar to Mac. "Let me tell you what Mac, it's a wild story..." _

* * *

**To be continued...**

* * *

**Author's Note: **

Hello once again, readers who are still around...?

Yes, I finally updated on a Saturday, woo hoo! Even though it's late at night, and it might be already Sunday for some of you readers on the east coast, but I DID IT. Like Doc says, every loss is a small victory...! On the topic of Mayor, as blunt as he is, I feel for him – there have been times I've been sent a group text, then later get 20 notifications because two people keep responding to each other. It's terrible, but unlike him, I can't say anything about it because I don't want to be mean!

*ahem*

Onto other news! I decided to shorten up my chapters so I can update more frequently and not...drop basically a novel on everyone every time I post a new chapter. *sweats profusely* I still feel guilty because I haven't gotten to the real meat of the story yet, but trust me, I'm setting up certain character arcs and trying to polish up the big story plot I have planned.

I have been focusing quite a bit on the Fire Emblem characters, but by next chapter, there spotlight will hit a few of the others on the rooster. I hope there's still a few people out there haven't lost interest yet! If only God gave me the ability to write 10,000 words per minute, haha!

This chapter I did rely a bit heavily on some in-game dialogue from _Fire Emblem: Awakening_, but I made a number of changes. This chapter will probably be the last time I will use a few lines of in-game dialogue (I did want to be close and faithful to a few of the in-game events), so look forward to original content. Also, this is the first time I have written an action scene, so if anyone has any comments on my writing, let me know! I'm a beginner and I willing to take advice!

Lately, I've been editing my own work, but I've been debating whether to have a beta reader or not. Sometimes writing gets better if a different set of eyes look through it. Since this is a rather last-minute update, there may be a few edits tomorrow.

**Question of the Day: **_To those who have had a beta reader, how was it and would you recommend it for a new author?_

Will look forward to the next chapter next month, **Shuushi. **

**\- A. Mitsuni**

* * *

**Index:**

(1) "Dancing Blade" is Marth and Lucina's side special move. Since Chrom is related to both and has a similar fighting style, he would most likely hone the same ability.

(2) Each floor in Wolfgang Hall is assigned a letter: first level is A-hall, second level is B-Hall, and third level is C-hall. A resident assistant, or RA, is a trained peer leader who supervises those living in a residence hall or group housing facility. They generally will oversee the floor they are assigned to, as well as build leadership and community among dorm members, create group activities or events, and enforce dormitory rules and regulations.

**EDIT: **Wording, grammar, sentence structure. Formatting and wording. More wording and formatting.


	6. Chapter Six: Shuushi

**Chapter 6: **Shuushi

* * *

**Shuushi:** (Japanese) (n.) "autumn melancholy"_; a feeling of deep sadness associated with the autumn season._

* * *

Faded shades of blue and blinding white light swooshed and flashed before her. Once Robin's eyes refocused and adjusted to the vibrant colors, her sense of hearing soon caught up with her. Sounds of doors opening and closing and footsteps were heard. The scent of rubbing alcohol and sterile air flooded her being.

The tactician first laid there for a brief moment, staring at the blue-gray ceiling tiles in a daze before slowly sitting up straight and taking in her surroundings. She appeared to be resting on leather examining table, blanketed by long, thin sheet of crinkled white paper. In front of her was small work area with a sink, a stack of medical records, and a few writing supplies on the counter top. Two cushy chairs were propped against the wall nearby, her hooded tactician coat haphazardly draped across.

Based off her keen observations, Robin concluded that she was taken into some sort of urgent care clinic or medical facility. The room thus far was empty with no sight of Chrom or the rest of his companions, leaving her to wonder how long she was left all alone. She then thought back of what she last remembered - the sight of the burning town, defeating the bandit leader, helping Chrom to his feet...

Her eyes widened once she suddenly recalled the intense pain she felt in her head before falling into darkness. Her hands automatically went to her wounded temple, which was now covered by a small cotton bandage. A rush of questions came to mind, but her thoughts were disrupted when the door clicked open. To her surprise, a pink creature that resembled that of a small puffball with cat-like ears and big teal eyes was at the door. She appeared to have a nurse's cap on her head with a small black band strapped to her wrist and a clipboard in her petite arms.

"Oh. You're awake," despite the neutral, computerized voice coming from her blinking wristband, the Pokémon gave a cheerful smile when stepping in. "You are Robin, correct? How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright, I suppose," the Plegian replied. "My throat is a little dry."

"I am Nurse Purin and I will be taking your vitals today," the nurse hopped onto a rolling stool chair and poured water into a cup. "You may call me Jigglypuff as well."

Robin graciously accepted the paper cup and took a generous swig before asking, "How long have I been out?"

"Only a few hours," Jigglypuff responded back, washing her hands and gathering a few medical instruments from the work area. "It seemed that you simply fainted from fatigue, but since you had a head injury and reported some memory loss, we wanted to see the source of the problem and get a proper diagnosis."

Robin simply nodded, allowing the pink puff to take her blood pressure, respirations, heart rate, and temperature, all while recording down the information on her clipboard. The nurse worked in silence for the next few minutes, only asking a couple simple commands from her patient. She did give an odd glance at the dark intricate marking that was found on Robin's right hand, but didn't question it. (1) Once Jigglypuff finished the last of her assessments, the door creaked once again.

A muscular, pale-skinned man in skin tight fitness clothes opened the door, allowing a mustached doctor in a white coat behind him to enter the room. The doctor silently dismissed the fitness trainer, who nodded and shut the door.

"Ah, Nurse Jigglypuff," a thick Italian accent rolled from his tongue. "How's our princess feeling?"

"All vital signs are in good health," the Pokémon reported, handing her clipboard to him. "Is there anything else I must check on...?"

The doctor paused for a moment to skim the clipboard before shaking his head. "I'll-a take it from here. Please check on the patients on the third floor if you don't mind."

The rosy orb took that as her cue to leave as she nodded, gathered the rest of her medical tools, and left the room. Robin eyed the badge that was pinned onto the doctor's coat that read, "NTD LAND URGENT CARE: MARIO, M.D."

"Erm..."

The doctor looked up before letting out an embarrassed laugh and reached out for a handshake. "Mamma-mia, where are my manners? I'm-a Dr. Mario, and I heard of your condition when your friends stopped by my clinic early today."

"You mean Chrom?" Robin straightened up. "Do you know where they are?"

"Hmm..." Dr. Mario scratched his chin thoughtfully. "It seemed that your friends had an urgent mission since they left immediately after. One of them did stay behind to stitch up a wound, but left an hour ago. I assume the others are finishing the job at this moment, but one of your friends did promise he would come back to check up on you."

"Oh."

"Now then," the doctor put down the clipboard on the counter and pulled a pen-sized flashlight from his pocket. "I'm-a gonna do a few neuro checks before running a few small tests."

* * *

"Milord, you're still here? I thought you would have gone back to Iwata with Lissa."

"...huh?"

The bluenette sat up from his chair, attentive to his guardian but clearly exhausted after reporting in at the Justice Force Department. Although the rest of the escort went smoothly after the run-in with the bandits, the mission as a whole was a headache to deal with from beginning to end. After filing in his last bit of paperwork and undergoing a brisk interrogation from the Captain himself, he slumped onto a chair in the lobby area, finally free from the entire ordeal.

"I...uh...was waiting on something..." he mumbled, running his fingers through his hair before rubbing his tired eyes.

Frederick looked on for a moment, staring the prince curiously.

Chrom finally relented with a sigh. "I asked Captain if he could run Robin's name through the city records. I just...wanted to see if there anything popped up that can help her out. After all, she can only remember her name and nothing else of her past." He frowned when met by a disapproving look from his mentor.

"Perhaps if she is well, Robin can now present a proper explanation of how she came about here, providing that she had no connection to the bandits from before."

Chrom stood by his judgment nonetheless. "She fought hard to save the innocent lives. My heart says that's enough."

The stern knight heaved a soft 'hmph', knowing that arguing with Chrom was useless at this point. "My lord, I'm afraid your trustworthiness in strangers will lead to your downfall someday."

"Heh, I know you're just for looking out for Lissa and me. Thank you."

"By the way," Frederick pulled out a small card from a pocket inside his armor. "I received this from Pit before he and the others returned to Fils-Aime. He said it was for you from the Pyramid King and Queen."

He handed over a crisp white card with shining gold trimming on the edges. Upon opening the card, a short message was neatly written inside.

.

.

_"To our allies of the Ylisse Kingdom;_

_There are simply not enough words we could hope to say to show how much we thank you and your kingdom for helping us in our time of need. We will never forget the kindness and support you shared with us during this tragic time, as we are eternally grateful._

_If there ever comes a time where Ylisse or Archanea is in peril, you can count on the loyal monarch of Golden Pyramid and our faithful citizens to be there for you and your brethren during your time of need._

_Sincerely,_

_King and Queen of G.P."_

_._

_._

Chrom's eyes softened and a big smile spread on his face, now happy to know that despite how long and difficult the day was, he was able to make a difference in someone's life after all.

"Well, Emmeryn will at least be thrilled to know that securing an alliance was a success," Chrom grinned and got up after pocketing the card. Even Frederick the Wary was pleased hearing the good news.

"Chrom?"

The two turned around to see a rather tall, blonde woman in a short, blue leather jacket, dark cargo pants, and a medium-sized duffel bag full of training equipment resting on her shoulder. (2) In her hands was a fairly thick manila envelope.

"Samus?" Chrom raised an eyebrow, surprised to see a familiar acquaintance here. He remembered working with her once or twice during a mission last year, but at the time, she didn't mention about being involved with the Justice Force Department. "I didn't know you worked here."

Samus let out a small snort. "I don't - just putting in volunteer hours seeing as there weren't any short-term missions available today. Speaking of," she handed over the paperwork to the Ylissian prince, "This is what Falcon gathered up on our database. He wanted me to get it to you since I was heading out the door."

"Oh. Thank you."

With that, she curtly nodded before leaving the lobby and walking steadfast out the main doors. Chrom slowly flipped open the envelope and skimmed the documents for a moment before flipping it close and tucking it under his arm.

He, too, jogged towards the main entrance until he heard his guardian knight call out, "Milord, where are you heading to?"

"The Urgent Care Center. Robin needs to see this."

"Let me come with you. You shouldn't go out alone, I won't allow it."

"..."

Chrom froze right in front of the main door, his mouth twitched slightly. The one time he wanted to meet with his new friend alone, his guardian now felt the need to be extra protective.

* * *

One, two, one. Side step. Guard.

Drenched in perspiration, stray strands of her blonde bangs stuck plastered to her forehead. Now fitted in her training clothes, Samus had better mobility in her feet and arms and allowed her moves come faster and stronger.

Every punch and kick was absorbed by the white punching bag, but the next wave of hits began taking a toll on wear and tear of the sack. The sudden jolts from each impact caused the rusted metal chain length to click and whine.

It was no question that Samus always got in the zone when it came to her thorough physical training. Keeping her eyes straight on her target, the mercenary let her fists and her legs ebb and flow smoothly like a stream. Following after few punches and kicks, she maintained quick footwork to keep her momentum up

Just like her agile movements, she kept her mental state clear and never allowed herself to get distracted on one single thought for too long.

However…tonight was different.

Her stern eyes seemed more on edge, clouded by a deep, furious thought. She tried not to dwell on it, not to give it the time of day. But the idea lingered, like the old smell of the padded wrestling mats in the room.

_"Hey, Samus…"_

_"Falcon, I swear," she turned around with uninterested look. "If you're going to ask me about joining the Justice Force one more time –" _

_"It's not that." _

_Samus was taken aback, mildly surprised that her friend wasn't going on about that subject like he did every other day._

_"Are you okay?" _

_An odd look met with a groan. _

_"I mean…really okay? You've been withdrawing…pulling away from everyone again. Even Snake was wondering about you today." _

_Oh._

Jab, jab, kick. Move, sweep, dodge.

_Captain Falcon frowns again, but looked less serious and more weary and watchful. _

_"Look, I know it's that time of year again – " _

_She remembers tensing up before narrowing her eyes and swiftly muttering, "…I don't know what you're talking about."_

_" –and I know you don't like talking about it, but –"_

_She took a sharp intake of breath. _

_"– wait, would you just listen for a second…" _

No.

_ "Just. Drop it." _

_She felt her voice go low, almost with a seething tone. Nearly instantaneously, she felt her defensive reflex kick in and her walls rise up inside herself. _

_Yet, why did her anger feel so afraid? _

_Samus stood quickly and turned away, harshly whispering something along the lines of "need to go." She felt herself hesitate upon hearing her friend futile sigh, an action she wasn't a stranger to. _

Another powerful kick.

_"Tch. Fine. Forget I said anything." _

_She could almost hear him clench his teeth. _

_"Just take this to Chrom on your way out."_

Samus furrowed her brow, as if she tasted something bitter in her mouth.

It didn't matter if Falcon was her friend; her past was absolutely none of his business. What right did he have to justify him prying it out of her? This wasn't even the first time he tried to talk it out of her.

Before she could even stop herself, she felt conflicted on why this time, she felt so…_wrong._

...

No.

They're wrong.

All of them.

Everyone just wants her to just forgive and let go of those who shattered her once happy life. Violated her past.

As if _she_ was doing a disservice to herself.

Of course. She knew it.

Her so-called friends were no different.

The galactic warrior began a flurry of punches without stopping.

_How dare they. _

Forget?

How could she?

The burning colony? The horrifying screams and cries of help that haunt her every night?

No.

Hearing her father pleading for her to run away? Seeing her mother breathe his last breath? (3)

_Never_.

Samus slammed her last blow with frightening force, finally breaking the connecting metal hook and causing the punching bag to fly out into the air.

She watched as the old, weathered sack smash into the wall before falling over on the ground, knocking a few yoga balls out of a nearby plastic rack. She knew Trainer was probably going to scold her for making a mess in her area, but at the moment, Sam couldn't care less.

The blond stayed still with her fists up, panting not out of physical exhaustion, but to calm her brewing rage. She stared down at her taped hands, which were swollen and bruised, but not bloodied. Then, she looked back at the punching bag and felt somewhat guilty when its wrinkled crease marks caused the painted on eyes to look sad and defeated.

_'Stop it. It's just a damn punching bag.'_

She stood idly for a good moment, soaked in her own sweat. She hungered for satisfaction after that last punch, but in the end, she just seemed empty underneath her simmering moodiness.

Samus was so deep in thought, she hardly heard the door creak open behind her.

"Wow - I, uh... remind me never to piss you off, ever..."

Samus turned around to see a robust male at the door in, interestingly enough, a soft pink hoodied sweater and green boxing shorts. Observing from the pair of worn boxing gloves in his hands led her to believe he was one of the Doc Louis' new students.

"Um..." the boy's looked more awkward as time passed, his eyes darting between her and the white sandbag, "If I came at a bad time, I'll just come in later - "

"No, no," she quietly intervened after reaching for her towel in her gym bag. "I'm about done here. Sorry for making a mess - I'll clean up in a bit."

"Oh, that? Pfft, that ol' Sandbag is fine, trust me..."

He walked over to where the punching bag landed, picking it up and dusting it off with a upbeat smile.

"Honestly, I've done way worse than this. Besides, I keep telling Doc to get better metal chains anyways."

The boxer then made his way towards Samus, revealing that he was much shorter and stockier than she anticipated when she first saw him at the dooway, barely coming above her shoulders. Fortunately for her, the taller of the two was able to conceal her amusement rather well.

The quiet stillness of the room settled between the two, Samus taking her time rehydrating from a nearby water fountain.

"You're new here, aren't you...?" She wiped her mouth. The blonde felt somewhat compelled to keep carrying a conversation with the stranger to keep herself distracted from her prior thoughts. If he picked up any negative vibes from her, he at least was polite enough to not ask about it.

"You can tell, huh? If you want to be alone during evenings, I'll just come in the afternoons after boxing club to do my drills."

"No need, it's really alright," she shook her head before asking, "Your name?"

He gave a boyish grin before offering a hand.

"Just call me Little Mac."

The pony-tailed teen gave a small smile and firm handshake in return.

"Samus Aran."

* * *

Long trails of cigarette smoke evaporated into the night air, hazing into nothing against the frigid autumn wind. Blurred sounds of heavy metal and rap music blared in the back of the alley before eventually blending with the reverberation of heavy traffic beyond the dumpsters and trash-littered mud puddles.

Deep within the old city district of Nintendo-Land was mostly filled with housing projects, aged urban infrastructure, rundown old ma' and pa' shops, and dingy, decrepit pubs and taverns. A disgruntled taxi driver is seen squeezing the last of his "lunch" break before returning back to his night shift once more.

The husky man with a thick, angular mustache waited outside against an old wired fence, finishing the last of his pack before heading back to the shabby saloon inside. He flicked away the remaining ashes on the tip of his cig before exhaling a huge puff of smoke. During the midst of his smoke, he became startled when he suddenly heard a scratching, rattling noise by the trashcans.

Wario slowly stalked towards the source of the sound, readied himself for anything that could and would pop out –

"Waugh!"

\- then almost stumbles back in a comical manner as a stray black cat jumped out from behind.

"Agh, you damned animal! Shoo! _Scram!_"

Most peculiar, the black cat simply stared at the angry man with what looked like a questionable frown, before running behind the dumpsters and through the fence. Of course, Wario didn't notice the odd animal behavior in his fit of frustration. Now with the last of his smoke break spoiled, he let out an annoyed snort, then tossed the last of his cigarette to the ground and crushed it with his heel.

No use to further aggravate his already short temper, he upturned the collar of his raw oxhide jacket and opened the corroded metal door out in the back porch. Wario wasn't even fazed when the foul stench of alcohol, cigars, and drug paraphernalia hit his nose. Within the darkly lit room were several tables and booths around with silhouetted figures who lounged about, ranging from young men in soiled business attire, wealthy older women, young seductive girls, and old raggedy perverts. On the walls by the bar counter were walls stacked with bottles of booze next to the flickering neon signs.

And there, at the end corner of the bar was a tall, shadowed figure, swirling the whiskey in his small glass. The hooded figure glanced once at Wario's direction and nodded, acknowledging his presence.

The elderly bartender was quick to notice his regular customer has returned from his smoke break, and soon began mixing a cocktail of sorts. The taxi driver grunted when taking a seat on the bar stool, cursing how uncomfortable the cushion felt.

"So...you got yer' end, right?" Wario started, cutting to the chase. He took a quick gulp of his drink once the bartender presented it to him.

The dark figure stayed silent. Despite the guest's ominous appearance, it wasn't long until the plumper one refused to have his time wasted and get cheated out of a deal. But before he could utter another word, he gets practically shoved out of his bar stool by a much larger figure who sat next to him.

Spinning around in irritation, Wario wasn't much pleased when he realized it was his unlikely partner, Bowser, who was squishing him due to his larger sized body.

"Oof...they don't leave any room in these blasted stools – "

"Bowser – Goddammit - would ya' knock it off?!"

"Quiet."

The noisy pair was quickly silenced by the cloaked stranger, who now decided to speak. He took a last sip of his whiskey before responding again, "Bowser, the news if you may."

The spike-covered reptile cleared his throat. "Nothing new with blondey. All she ever does is go to class and then go to the Hylian Cathedral to cry to her goddess or whatever. Hasn't been any suspicion of her getting into trouble. In fact, she hardly visited the school library since the start of the year."

"And Prince Marth?"

"Hmph. That stubborn blue fuzzball hasn't done anything out of the ordinary. Schedule's stricter than the city transit station. I'm tellin' ya', there aren't any signs of the divine blade or shield of seals being on campus. I even checked all over his room. Well, 'cept if you're talking about the dumber cousin fuzzball – "

"We're not interested in _that_ less-worthy replica."

"Erm...well, probably like the Hyrule Kingdom, the Archanean monarch must be keeping their precious wittle Falchion at the capital," Bowser coughed uncomfortably. "There doesn't seem to be any reason for the two to bring their kingdom's most sacred treasures to Iwata. After all...they're just decoration at this point, aren't they?"

A long pause. The ice in the stranger's glass clinked. Wario quirked an eyebrow to Bowser, a little shocked that his monstrous colleague didn't cave and restarted stalking Princess Peach again.

To Bowser's relief, the figure finally nodded and replied, "Good. Keep a close eye on the two and report of anything you find suspicious immediately."

He fishes out a small burlap bag filled with solid gold coins, in which the King Koopa eagerly accepted. Wario, on the other hand, scowled impatiently.

"And what of me? Where's _my_ end of da' deal?"

"Need not to worry, my friends."

Behind the trio emerged another hooded figure who was also wearing the same cloak to the first one. Unlike the prior, this mysterious stranger was rather tall, gray-skinned, and lanky, bearing the image of a shrewd mage.

"To both my tubby comrades, I only ask of this..." The veiled visitor offered a small parcel in his pale, gaunt hands. Wario cautiously took the parcel and carefully read it over. Afterwards, he glanced at Bowser and handed the note over to him to read as well.

"An important family member has...ran away from me and my clansmen, and I need you two to be on the lookout. I'm fairly certain that she made her way to the city. Remember, I need her alive – if you manage to find her and take her to me..."

He took out a large cloth sack he hid behind his cloak, which was filled to the brim with gold coins. He peered at Bowser and Wario's wide-eyed and open mouthed reactions.

"This wealth will be all yours to take home as our..._kind_ gratitude of your service."

The hooded strangers both smirked, now winning over their loyal lackeys with such simple material wealth.

"So gentlemen, do we have ourselves a deal...?"

* * *

**To be continued... **

* * *

Author's Note:**  
**

I DID IT!

...Okay, it's after midnight but I finished it! I decided to add another part last minute because I realized that even though I kept delaying an update, this is probably the shortest one so far. *feels deathly ashamed*

I'm so very sorry! Please forgive me! *cries forever* Of course, if people would rather see shorter updates, I'm happy to oblige!

But yes, I have updated my author's profile and mentioned that due to crazy changes at work for my day job has kept me from really writing. That, and all the stress made me less motivated and stagnated all creative juices. But now that things have settled down, I'm happy to be able to update before the end of this month. I thought I had extra time, but then I forget - February is **short**. *sweats*

Nevertheless, I don't want to spend the entire A/N complaining!

I want to thank my lovely followers and anyone who has read my story thus far. I'm grateful for every reader to takes time out of their important lives to read my story! I always feel guilty because I wish I can update as constant as other authors in this Smash fandom. I mean, seriously - how do they update once a day, sometimes twice! I'm just going nuts from just working two jobs, haha!

This is a bit of a rough update, I'll probably go back and re-edit this chapter later in the morning. *sweats profusely* Again, I'm not sure whether having a beta would be a good idea or not. As for cameos, yes, that was Male!Wii Fit Trainer at the first part of the chapter.

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

_"**yaoiprincess101:** Hey! Great story so far! One question: Will you be adding Pit's counterpart? (I'm a big Pittoo fan...) or any other newcomers?"_

Thank you so much for reading! It always makes me smile when someone likes my story. For Pit's counterpart, Dark Pit, **yes**, he will be a part of the story! He won't come until much later, but will play a big role in the incoming arcs.

As for the rest of the newcomers, I will try my best to have them _all_ appear at least more than once in the story. Newcomers such as Female!WFT, Palutena, Duck Hunt Dog, Pac-man, Female!Villager, Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings, Greninja, Shulk, and Lucina will added sooner or later. I'm really excited!

As for the rest of readers, what's going on with Samus? Will we ever find out what happened in Robin's past? Who were those hooded figures? And...the Falchion...is there really two blades? Find out on the next chapter update, **Ipseity, **coming soon!

**\- A. Mitsuni**

* * *

**Index:**

(1) In _Fire Emblem: Awakening,_ the Avatar (Robin) bears the Mark of Grima on their right hand, a symbol of their role as Grima's vessel.

(2) Samus' casual outfit is based off of this image: (image link provided on blog in my profile)

(3) According to _Metroid_ lore, Samus' home was a mining colony K-2L. Her father, Rodney Aran, sacrificed himself to destroy most of the space pirates who attacked the colony, with Ridley as the only survivor. Her mother, Virginia Aran, sacrificed herself to save Samus from being killed by Ridley.

**EDIT:** Wording. Sentence structure. More wording. Punctuation. Wording.


	7. Chapter Seven: Ipsiety

**Chapter Seven: **Ipsiety

* * *

**Ipseity: **(Latin) (n.) _selfhood – the quality of being oneself; the essential element of individual identity._

* * *

_"__Hiy-yaah...!" _

Daisy's serve sailed across the net, bouncing into the right service box in a solid 'thunk!' before springing back up in the air and over the wired black fence. She let out a contented breath while the rest of her teammates watched in admiration.

"Wooow..." Lana, a fellow freshman with amethyst eyes and matching turquoise hair, murmured in awe. (1) "I knew you were good, but not _this_ good!"

"Really?" Daisy gleamed, soon being filled with confidence. "Haha, thanks!"

A teammate next to her, who was in much shorter stature, casted her eyes down in sorrowful doubt and fidgeted at her tennis racket.

"I-I wish I could be as good as you, Daisy. I...I don't think I'll make it on the team this year..."

Daisy immediately went over to her pink pig-tailed friend, giving a reassuring pat on the back.

"Aww, don't say that, Toadette. If you work hard and practice, you'll be great - even better than me as long as you don't give up!" (2)

"You really mean that?"

"Of course!"

"It's Daisy, isn't it?" a voice spoke from behind, quickly catching Daisy's attention.

All three looked up, a little surprised to see the varsity captain, wearing the official school's red and yellow track jacket, standing before them with hands on her hips.

"Ah...yes? If you want me to get the ball over the fence, I was about to – " Daisy then stopped when the captain shook her head.

"That's a mean serve you got there. If you tweak your swings a bit, you may just make the cut for varsity this year," the bespectacled brunette commented alongside an eager smile.

"Seriously?! Alright!" Daisy pumped her fist in excitement, then cleared her throat sheepishly and slightly bowed her head. "Erm – I mean, thank you, captain."

"Don't sweat it," the captain laughed with a wave of a hand. "Oh, and you can just call me Nikki." (3)

Then, she turned over and called out to the rest of the girls, "Okay girls! Time's up! We'll take a water break before resuming tryouts and dividing up into teams for doubles!"

Large groups of girls breathed a sigh of relief, happy to take a break. Few ran over past the nets, volunteering to collect the overflowing tennis balls from practice. The rest rushed over to line up at the water fountains, chit chatting excitedly about the athletic schedule for the new school year and pulling their smart phones from their duffel bags.

Daisy looked up from across the way and saw a familiar blue-haired friend. Upon closer look, it appeared to be Marth walking across the cement path with a small stack of papers in his arms. Now feeling less timid and more bold than from their last meeting, she hopped both legs over the net and jogged over behind the wired fence, calling out,

"Hey! Marth! Over here...!"

The Sarasa-land heir didn't expect to catch the junior's attention, but to her pleasant surprise, Marth paused, turned over and gestured back. Daisy smiled, and then grinned even bigger when she noticed he was motioning towards the vending machines a few yards over.

* * *

A loud clatter echoed from the vending machine take-out slot.

"So, what brings you over to this part of campus?"

Daisy quickly uncapped the bottle and slugged down a good half of her neon orange Powerade before offering Marth a sip. The prince appreciated the generosity, but politely declined.

"I was heading over to the administration building to deliver some paperwork," Marth looked up at the clear blue sky above and leaned against the nearby brick wall. "And I'm guessing you're here for tennis tryouts...?"

"Yup!" Her short pigtails bounced with a nod of her head. Daisy curiously eyed at the bundle of papers in his hand for a second. "Hey…what's all that for anyways?"

"Oh, this?" Marth ran his finger through the edges of the pages. "It's just our location proposal for the upcoming autumn tourney retreat that's coming up. My sister wanted our suggestions by today to jump start on planning."

"...Autumn tourney retreat?"

"Oh right, I forgot – this will be the first time you'll go this year," he tapped on his lips thoughtfully. "Hmm...how do I explain – well, it's an training event for the whole student body over a 4-day weekend around mid-November. We, along with other battle schools in the city, take certain parts of the year to dedicate time to train and prep for the coming summer tournament. Generally for our school and Fils-Aime school, our meet-ups happen twice a year – once in the fall and again in the spring. Since our events follow so closely, we've been making joint events for years now."

"Joint events have always benefited both schools," he explained in further detail. "It makes for cheaper costs for both sides, as well as fuel our rivalry. But anyhow, no need to worry about it for now, you'll definitely hear more of it later on."

Daisy nodded, taking time to chew over the idea of training rallies. Despite the fact that she's known of the Super Smash Tournament for years, she never heard of these "retreats" from her cousins.

"Gotcha."

A moment of silence.

The azure-haired teen stretched his arms out before getting up from against the wall.

"I should let you get going. I shouldn't be holding you here for too long – "

"Wa-wait!"

Daisy blurted out before realizing it, who then went to scratch her cheek and cough awkwardly.

"Uh...I never got to say thank you. For pushing me to do something different. I...I was afraid I wouldn't have any friends coming here, but...I was able to get to know some of the girls on the team. And it wouldn't have been if it wasn't for you and Peach – oh! – and Rose...so umm...thank you. Again."

She then internally grimaced after hearing what she said out loud. _'Oh geez, that...sounded really dumb, eugh.'_

But before the brunette began to regret her words, Marth looked fairly happy, almost cheerful with a slight glimmer in his eyes.

"Well then. I didn't know you felt that way," he replied before breaking into his usual smile. "I'm glad to hear that I helped you in some way. You're always welcome to come by our table during lunch – that is, if you're not too busy with your new friends."

Daisy giggled, the sides of her face flushed pink in the sunshine.

"Haha, I'll take 'yer word for it!"

Daisy skipped down the greenery and back into the tennis courts, and when her soon-to-be teammates pounced on her to demand how on earth she managed to get closely acquainted with the famous student body president or gush how hot he looked, the tomboy turned around once again to give one last thumbs up to her friend.

Off in the distance, Daisy could spot a small figure yards away, waving back.

* * *

Running shoes?

Check.

.mp3 player?

Check.

Headphones? Detangled?

Hold on...check.

With a contented smirk, Ike pursued towards the path set before him, kicking back the dirt and dust behind his heels. Each passing day, the trees in the city transformed into bright shades of orange and the autumn wind felt cooler and crisp to the touch. Even with the cool season settling in the city, many of its citizens still roamed the evergreen parks and nature trails spread across the wooded forest. Young couples leisurely enjoying nature's fall colors hand-in-hand while various dogs romped through piles of dry maple leaves, their owners only a leather leash behind.

On most days, the pounding rhythm of classic rock generally kept his head and body focused and alert, but today, he let himself look around and enjoy his surroundings during his run. Perhaps it was the relaxing scenery around him. Or it could be the soothing acoustic indie covers pulsating through his headphones.

Ike regularly did his jogging rounds through the nature trail in the early dusk mornings, when nature trails were empty so he could be alone with his thoughts. But unlike the rest of this week, he swapped his usual study time for an afternoon run since he had to study extra early for a quiz this morning. As important as his education was to him, there was no chance he was going to let schoolwork affect his training by any means.

His brow deepened and his lips pressed in a firm line for a moment, not realizing where the path his thoughts or his legs were heading towards.

His strength.

What did it really mean to be truly strong?

For his friends? Family? His men?

Or for himself?

Many of his own soldiers clamored how his father was the strongest man they knew – so strong, he could take a bear and a wyvern at the same time with his own two hands. But he saw a side of his father that none of his comrades knew.

How his father encouraged him during their swordplay and sparring sessions and told tall tales of his adventures around the fire pit. How he carefully bandaged her teary-eyed sister, Mist, when she skinned her knee and tenderly carried her back to the house. (4) How he lovingly caressed and danced with his mother on the kitchen floor every sleepy summer evening.

Veering around a corner, the path split apart into three, one stone path curving through a nearby playground. Various children played about, climbing up and down the many ropes, slides, ladders, and steps. He slowed to a walk to drink in the sights, smiling half-heartedly at the energetic kids running about. One little boy in particular let out a child-like laugh as his father carried and helped him traverse through the monkey bars.

Fatherhood, huh.

His core being entered a smooth melancholy, descending into a painful bliss. Ike was mentally prepared, even more so than before, wherein thinking of his late father didn't open up the floodgates like it had years ago. And yet, the heavy ache in his heart was ever present as if it were just days ago when...

When...

He tucked his head in and squeezed shut his eyes before breathing in and out hard. Even in the midst of the blaring music, the sound of his heartbeat pulsated through his ears and his chest heaved a mixed sigh.

_'Don't think. Stop.' _

Whatever energy he had left inside he burst forth into a sprint, hurtling past the park-goers and children on the dirt path in a blur.

Why?

Why must his head decide to reminisce of the past here when he was in public and not back when he was alone his dorm?

He forced down the burning lump forming in his throat down as he strained his legs to run faster and faster, distorting everything around him in a mix of vivid, blinding colors.

It was hard to forget.

While Ike was not one to champion his mindfulness and memory, he took his father's death the hardest out of anyone else. While he hardly remembered his mother's passing, he surely witnessed, in sheer clarity, his father's horrifying murder at the hands of the ruthless one known as the Black Knight. (5) He bit back the bitter tears as he pumped his arms forward, moving from a fast jog into a sprint. It was no lie that underneath the layer of sadness and grief was a bubbling volcano of dry anger and wretched bitterness.

_That damned Black Knight. _

Ike swore to himself that he would not stop getting stronger until he was powerful enough to avenge his father. He was weak and pathetic in the past, but Ike knew not to leave it to chance. No matter how much time it took, the smalt-haired mercenary vowed to end the one who killed his father in cold blood, even if it meant costing his very last breath. Damn it all if anyone or anything tried to get in his way.

His feet came to a stop as he let up from the running to catch his breath. Once his breathing came to a normal pace, he switched off his .mp3 player and looked around. It didn't take long for him to realize through his sprinting, he ran off from the main path and deep off into the woods. He took a good look around after wiping away the sweat and stray tears from his eyes, just to see the main walking path past the oak trees, a few yards away.

_'Great.' _

Ike blew out another regrettable sigh, it now dawning on him that he was letting his emotions take control of him again. His only hoped that no one he knew saw him running past with a cry baby look on his face. Looking across the way, a light breeze blew about the leaves on the ground. The sun was nearly setting past the trees, the last bit of sunshine flickering among the branches. Ike then grinned, realizing that despite wandering off the path, he earned himself a good view of the boundless forest. After all, the cool air felt good against the perspiration on his skin. He took the chance to venture fourth into the wilderness, feeling the weight of the world fall away.

At least, for the time being.

A certain thought had tugged away at him in the back of his mind. Considering how much he wanted to distract himself from his prior ordeal, he let himself think over the bothersome event that was brought up by Soren from their last Skype chat. His sides of his lips twitched in irritation just thinking about it.

The Bi-Annual United Archanean Royalty Banquet.

And the one, whom he unashamedly hailed as his best friend, had the audacity to press him to come to such an event.

Ike did receive a physical invite forwarded to his mail box a few days prior - one that was so ornate, he could smell the garish perfume and pompous lace inside the envelope from a foot away. He narrowed his eyes in slight agitation, then smiled in relief of remembering how he ripped it apart and tossed in the trash bin without a second glance.

There was no argument that the Black Knight took firm hold of his seething, unrelenting fury, although the "fancy-pantsy" bourgeois was a close second in possessing the rest of his agitation. And, oh how he loathed the rich, pretentious family clans of all Archanea, or Earthania for that matter. Their ridiculously overloaded lifestyle, their so-called "political correctness" with the same tongues they used to spread gossip, their over-the-top fashion sense, and their ugly arrogance towards those who they considered "beneath" themselves - he hated it all and blanched at the thought of being around such people.

The densely wooded area began to thin out; the smaller trees began to disperse around the dry field. Nonetheless, Ike pushed onwards.

He knew Soren meant for the better. His close friend didn't tell him to come to the event just to make him angry. The chief mage was simply looking out for the benefit of the Greil Knights, and knew that in order to strive towards success, the mercenaries must work together with other civilians, even if it meant dealing with less-than-pleasant folks. As much as Ike thought of himself as a reasonable person, he stuck to his guns and refused to be dragged to the evening formal.

Even after the late night, half-hour long banter, Soren gave up his useless cause and bid the stubborn lord goodnight. Even though he won the argument, Ike felt rather bittersweet, ending their Skype call on a sour note.

_'Whatever...he'll get over it. It's just a stupid party, I'd obviously go if it's actually important...I have studies and training and whatnot after all. They'll be fine without me.' _

He went along with justifying himself, not admitting that it was he who was making excuses for such an occasion. But all his thoughts came to a halt when he gazed upon the stunning hillside within the rolling grasslands. The peak of the grassy mound brightened ahead, past the shadows of the evergreen birch trees from below.

Atop the tall hill, Ike looked forward towards the horizon, not with fear or nervousness, but with a sense of unmovable determination coursing through his veins. He is more than the scared, little boy he once was long ago. With his destiny in sight, he threw away his lingering anxious thoughts to the wind, no longer afraid of facing the future.

His future.

The cold wind blew past his sapphire strands of hair and bleary eyes. One breath of clean, fresh air and Ike already felt that he could take on the world.

_'We're not done. Not yet.'_

* * *

Late Friday evening.

After a long week, the day of the royal banquet had finally arrived.

The marine-haired lord felt the vibrating notifications of text messages from his friends rack up on his lock screen, but he reminded himself it was improper of a prince to constantly have his eyes down on his cell phone.

His older cousin, on the other hand, held himself unabashed in chair, scrolling through the internet while he waited for his sisters to return from the dining buffet.

But not without looking dashing in his dark cobalt tuxedo and matching tie. Of course.

"Chrom, do you mind?" Marth couldn't help but leave a hint of amusement in his voice, considering that he honestly did find it rather humorous. It's been two years since Chrom and his family visited his home capital, Altea, and the first thing he did, soon after the four hour flight and limousine escort to the ancient castle grounds, was check his Facebook notifications.

"You're at the very center of the Altean Palace – which, by the way is nearly half a millennia old – and you're over here on your bum, scrolling through Tumblr on your internet browser."

His Ylissian counter-part whirled around, slightly aghast. "Hold on! You may say I am a slave to the internet, but just you see – I have the whole world at my fingertips, libraries upon libraries of information, history, culture, and the very essence of our humanity in the palm of my hand, and you dare say that I'm the one wasting my time?"

"Chrom. You are literally just watching videos of puppies. On Tumblr."

" – I know, aren't they adorable?"

"Chrom...!"

From the opposite side of the circular table stood both his younger and elder sister, their hands full with white porcelain plates of food. Dressed for the special occasion, Lissa and Emmeryn wore their beautiful formal dresses that sparkled like precious gems under the glass chandelier.

Lissa sported her halter-top teacup dress, patterned in brilliant polka dots of yellow and white. On her feet were cream-colored t-strap sandals, her hair pulled up in an adorably messy ponytail and pearly satin ribbons. Emmeryn's trumpet-style gown and lace shrug highlighted the earthy shades of emerald and gold, all while accentuating her majesty's elegance and grace. Her usual butterscotch curls were swept up in a modern half-updo as the golden crown of Ylisse was proudly adorned on her head.

Like many of the other Archanean noblewomen in the banquet hall, his sisters looked dazzling in their attire. Chrom felt almost apprehensive enough that they may catch an eye or two from any roaming bachelors.

"Don't tell me you haven't downloaded the app yet! Why don't you use the account you made months ago?" Lissa put one hand on her hip.

"Look, it's not a big deal. I don't even post anything, I just go through a couple blogs…"

A slight groan.

"…you forgot your password, didn't you?"

"N-no!"

The two siblings comically bickered back and forth for a minute while their eldest sister chuckled from behind. Frederick, now out of his knightly armor and into his simple amber waistcoat and slacks, pulled back Emmeryn's chair and helped her into her seat. She quietly whispered a "thank you" to the guardian knight, and then turned to Marth with a soft smile.

"Dear cousin, I hope Chrom was not bothering you when we were away," her voice held neither anger nor resentment, but only a hint of playful teasing.

Marth shook his head and let out a light-hearted laugh. "No, of course not! I did advise him to get off his phone, though."

One half-stern look from the Exalt, and Chrom raised his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright, I got it," the navy-haired teen immediately pocketed his phone.

"You can go down to the buffet line now," Lissa kept talking, even with her mouth full after shoveling spoonfuls of potato salad in her mouth. "Th'-lines-prof-ally-shor-n'w!"

"Mi'lady, please! Remember your table manners, we are in the presence of the most powerful of royalty!" Frederick held back an exasperated sigh when Lissa merely swallowed her food and stuck her tongue out.

Chrom soon excused himself from the table, his cousin following behind. While Marth wasn't quite hungry yet, he remembered his mother asking him to go introduce himself and converse the other noblemen and their political representatives of the U.A. overseas territories (6), all who traveled far and wide to the capital. As long as Marth could remember, his parents and his elder sister, Elice, were always on their feet to greet and chat with the lords and ladies well into the late night.

He took a small glance over the tall balcony, which oversaw the sea of aristocrats below. Much of the wealthy party-goers were elderly gentlemen who carried small talk of shallow politics and debate amongst each other, especially now with the collapse of the Golden Pyramid kingdom lingering on their backs. Servants busily walked around the groups of men and women with trays of hors d'oeuvres and special delicacies, or glasses of endless champagne and wine. At every corner of the center ballroom, various women, both young and old, were giggling and fawning excitedly over the handsome princes at the banquet. Now that Marth was older and more perceptive, he was positive that many of the ruling parents were vying for potential suitors at this year's evening formal.

The Altean was so deep in thought, he didn't realize he was a few steps behind Chrom and hastened the pace. Marth quickly caught up to him at the end of gold-crested stairwell and caught his shoulder.

"So...a little bird told me you were hiding a certain lady friend from me..."

Chrom's eyes widened instantly, before hastily looked around and whispering through his teeth. "How'd you – "

"Hey now," Marth held his palms up with a subtle smirk. "Doesn't matter how I found out, but I am surprised I didn't hear it straight from you after so long. So...?"

"...so what?"

"What happened? I last heard she was at the hospital...?"

Chrom let out a defeated sigh. "Well, about that, I – "

He was instantly interrupted by the sound of glass shattering, the gasps and screams of women, and what seemed like the clank of a blunt metal object and Vaike's boisterous laughter.

"Oh for Naga's sake – _auuugh_..." Right away, the Ylissian prince pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "I told Stahl and the others that they were allowed to spar in the courtyards as long as they were careful and didn't throw around their weapons – damn it..."

"Ah, maybe it was an accident. I'm sure no one got hurt..." Marth then cringed once hearing more fragile objects breaking and something resembling of a cat screeching.

"Sorry, I've got to check on the Shepherds!"

"But – " Marth's words were lost in the air once his older cousin was off and running towards the scene.

_'Well, there goes that discussion.' _

For a moment, he hesitated whether to follow or not to make sure everyone was alright, but then assumed with Chrom's sole responsibility as leader over the Shepherds, he would take care of the situation fairly fast.

Large rectangular tables in snow white tablecloth were lined neatly in a row with large, all filled to the brim with colorful dishes, local cuisine hailing from the bountiful heartland of Altea. Since the capital of Archanea is naturally a sea-port city, much of tonight's menu included different kinds of rare, exotic fish and meats - the finest foods in the whole continent. A string of culinary attendants stood on the other side of the table, readily serving entrée plates to the arriving guests.

Marth paused from the crowds of people, viewing if there was anything appetizing before leaving the buffet and concluding that he was going to wait a bit longer for food. Although, he didn't mind grabbing a sparkling champagne glass from one of the wandering servants as he blended in with the rest of attendees in the ballroom.

Without Chrom around to talk with, it didn't take long for the visiting noblemen to strike a conversation of the Altean prince. Many often pried into his academics and social life, clapped his back and remarked how much broader his shoulders were since the last banquet. Some of the aging gentlemen even teased him of his lack of a romantic partner and suggested taking up one of their daughters or granddaughters for their hand in marriage.

He was, more than not, used to such demands from the upper-class, and he took even the most pressing proposals in stride. He had to remind himself that while love, marriage, and producing a successor were indeed important, learning how to lead his people and maintaining a peaceful reign after his father took first priority. It was no surprise his own people frequently forgot how strenuous and involved his schedule is - even without the inclusion of his studies at Iwata. Marth politely made it clear that he had no spare time to spend with a girlfriend right now, let alone find someone who was actually interested in his "boring" self.

Love and romance had a time and place in his life.

But for right now, being single is for the best for the time being.

Soon enough, out on the corner of his eye, he saw a reddish blur run past the top balcony and towards the open-curtained throne room.

_'__Hmm. He must have just now arrived.' _

The blue royal chuckled to himself before pardoning himself from the crowd of men around him, using something along the lines of 'must check on my mother and sister.' He turned sharply around, and then nearly tripped when colliding into another figure behind him.

_"Oof...!" _

After stumbling back a bit, Marth straightened up right away and was quick to apologize. "My apologies, I wasn't seeing where I was going."

"It's alright, I was not paying attention either," the shorter figure brushed the dust off his clothes. He promptly tensed up, realizing that he had unceremoniously bumped into the prince of all United Archanea.

"Oh, I – I am so very sorry, your royal highness...!" the stranger bowed his body deeply. "Please excuse my terrible manners."

"No, no, it's really alright!" Marth assured profusely. As much as he accepted how people treated him because of his royal title, he didn't get any pleasure seeing people bowing or kissing up to him. He examined the man closely, realizing he was of the mage class from the looks of his long gray mage cloak worn over his tan-colored khakis and semi-casual dress shoes. Most notable was the intricate red mark present on his forehead.

"I don't believe we have met before," Marth extended his hand. "May I ask of your name?"

"You may call me Soren, your highness," the mage slightly bowed his head and shook his hand. "I am in part of the great Greil Mercenaries of Crimea, and my party and I are sincerely grateful to attend such an event for the first time."

"Hmm, the Greil Knights, you say..." Marth scratched his chin, vaguely remembering hearing the name from somewhere. "I assume you are the leader of this group?"

"No, your highness," He noticed a hint of sore irritation in Soren's voice and stone cold expression, but pretended not to hear it. "Ike, our leader, is currently attending Fils-Aime Battalion School and...could not make it due to prior affairs. In turn, I am taking his place as representing our men until he finishes his studies."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Marth apologized, earnestly sympathetic. He thought to himself silently, the name 'Ike' still rang unfamiliar in recent memory. "I hope to meet him in the near future. Perhaps there will be better luck at the next banquet."

"Yes, perhaps. Thank you, your highness."

Soren nodded stiffly, then excused himself and left in the opposite direction.

* * *

**To be continued...**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

*falls on the floor*

**I. AM. SO. SORRY. **

No, that's not good enough.

_*starts flailing*_

Okay, okay, you probably get the picture. I feel _really_ GUILTY because I last updated my profile back in March saying I would update BACK IN MARCH, but so much _crap_ came up! Anime-cons, getting sick, stress from work, AWFUL WRITER'S BLOCK, and so forth. But no excuses! My fellow readers deserve better, so I will give better from now on! Or at least, I'll try…

I actually ran into the issue I had last time where I actually wrote _too much_ and had to divide the chapter in half. Not much really changes, except that the next chapter will continue directly with the United Archanean Banquet. I wanted to put the whole chapter in, but when I started heading into 8000 word territory, I was like, NO I HAVE TO STOP NOW. I feel bad because it's a bit of a slow chapter - more exciting things will happen, I promise!

In this chapter, I've been focusing a lot on the Fire Emblem characters. Generally in the "Introduction" arc right now, I've been taking extra notes on character studies and development and I wanted to showcase certain characters, what their personalities are like, and who they hold friendships with. Once that's in play, you get into the more complex issues, like romance, interpersonal relationships, and more. The "intro" arc will be about 5-6 more chapters before we jump into the next arc. It's actually quite exciting – I just. Fail at the writing and updating department.

*head desk*

Before I get into the review responses, I wanted to give a shout out to my good friend, _sorutan_! Right now, I'm the beta to her amazing multi-universe story, _"_Time Mistress" and if you can go over and give her story a read/review, that would be awesome!

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

_"__**FunshineXD**__: This is interesting! It's really easy to kill high school/university AUs, but you've managed to write one that sounds pretty promising to me :) I love all the little references you put in, too. Everyone is written in character, which is great! I'm already hooked with your ending here. (I'm really glad I found your story now instead of a few weeks ago because I can binge read the chapters now) :D_

_This is your first story? You're doing a fantastic job! Your story is severely underrated. Don't worry, just keep writing and eventually the hits will come. I want to see the next chapter too badly, so I'll drop a longer review next time :)"_

*mentally hyperventilates*

Oh my goodness, thank you so much for the kind and encouraging review! I get really happy when people get the little cameos and references I put in - silly thing, I know! I feel guilty because I can't afford updating constantly like others, but I really do try to update as soon as possible and to me, quality goes over quantity. While I'd love to have lots of reviews, the small followers I have is the reason I get up and write!

_"__**Guest A**__: I cannot believe that a story of this caliber has so few reviews! You've managed to take a done-to-death concept and transform it into something new and interesting, and I must say, I'm impressed at all the detail you've put into your worldbuilding and characters. I'm excited to see the main plot starting to pick up in this chapter, and I can't wait to see what's in store next." _

Oh my goodness, not going to lie, I almost teared up when read this! I'm really happy that my story was unique to someone and the time I spent on writing notes was worth it all! I know it's a little slow to start, but I hope to pick up the plot soon, especially with the world expanding from Earthania and beyond! I hope you stick around for more.

To everyone else still reading, thanks for the support and views! You guys are a_mazing!_

I'M GOING TO TRY FOR A REGULATED UPDATE SCHEDULE, I PROMISE!

**\- A. Mitsuni**

* * *

**Index:**

(1) Lana is a white sorceress and a playable ally in _Hyrule Warriors_. She is a young, energetic sorceress with a deep knowledge of spells and monsters and is ready to use everything in her power to support Hyrule in the war.

(2) Toadette is a recurring Toad character in the Mario franchise. Originally introduced as a playable racing partner for Toad in _Mario Kart: Double Dash!,_ she has since appeared in other games as a playable character and has played supporting roles in _Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door_, _Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix_, and _Mario Party DS_, and as a main character in _Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker_.

(3) Nikki is the mascot Mii in _Swapnote_ who gives you tips and rewards every now and then. She also appears in _Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone!_ and the Nintendo News section in the Nintendo official website. She has two assistants - a yellow cat and a panda.

(4) Mist is a cleric and younger sister of Ike from _Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance _and _Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn_. She fights with the Greil Mercenaries out of a fear of being separated from her brother, using healing magic taught to her.

(5) The Black Knight is a boss character in both _Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance_ and _Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn_, though he is also playable in the latter. He mortally wounds Greil, Ike's father, in a duel. Soon after Ike leads the Greil Knights, Ike vows to avenge his father and defeat the Black Knight.

(6) In this story's universe, United Archanea is currently ruled by Marth's family, the house of Altea. United Archanea's power and influence reaches to other nations, including the "Fire Emblem nations": Ylisse, Elibe, and Crimea. Nonetheless, these lands were once under United Archanea territory until granted independence in the modern era. While every nation is allowed their own independent government, United Archanea, technically by law, has the power to override the given government and retain control over the kingdom if need be.

**EDIT:** Wording. Forgot "To be continued..."


	8. Chapter Eight: Hiraeth

**Chapter Eight: **Hiraeth

* * *

**Hiraeth: **(Welsh) (n.) _a homesickness to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places of your past._

* * *

Marth walked out from the ballroom and down the extravagant corridor, leading to the outside castle gardens. Past the hall was a split alabaster stairwell, one side leading back to throne room and the other leading out towards the royal quarters. Taking to the right staircase, he headed up towards the third floor and down the regal red carpet, the passageway opening up again once more to the top balcony.

Across the railing, he saw his Ylisstol relatives at their table on the second level, enjoying their fine dining together. Chrom was now spotted, to Marth's amusement, face-palming at the edge of the table. And to his right was the grand Altean throne room at the very middle of the top level, held wide-open and overseeing the banquet below.

The throne room was visibly the most decorated of all the other rooms in the palace, with the kingly seat itself covered in several antique jewels and exquisite fabrics from top to bottom. The royal chair was set upon a platform by itself, atop a small set of stairs. Despite its very majestic appearance, the throne has not been sat upon for several decades and, for the most part, was for show during special occasions.

At the bottom rung of glossy ivory steps were his dear sister and mother who sat at the wide, flat table in front of the throne. A few close family members and councilmen gathered by the Princess Elice and her mother, Queen Liza. (1) Upon seeing the Archanean prince's arrival from the entryway, the guests and table attendants at quietly retreated from the table, allowing the royal family private time and conversation with each other.

"Marth, dear," his mother gently ushered him to come to the table. "How are our Ylisse relatives? I spoke only momentarily with our sweet Emmeryn."

"Good, good," Marth moved forward to grab a chair. "Both Emmeryn and Lissa are cheerful, as always. I think Chrom is still adjusting as leader to his men though – "

"Ah – " Elice quickly interrupted, grabbing her brother's forearm to stop him from sitting down. " – did you know what that loud noise was earlier?"

"Oh, that?" he paused for a moment, then shrugged casually. "I think something happened outside with the Shepherds, but I think Chrom's got it handled. I hope things didn't get too out of hand – "

Marth legs suddenly buckled beneath him and the unexpected gap of space between the chair and his bottom caused him to fall flat on his back, causing him to yelp loudly. Before he could he register what had just happened, a flash of red hair now bobbed up from behind the back rest of his arm chair with a burst of familiar laughter heard right above him.

"Oh – oh man! I didn't think you'd actually fall for that…!"

Roy.

Who else honestly.

Marth only gave a resigned sigh before getting up from the floor, blaming himself only on not expecting something that from him sooner.

The aforementioned prankster, who had cunningly pulled it back before Marth could sit down, was now clutching his stomach in a fit of giggles. He quickly quieted down his laughter when his mother, Lyndis, stomped over and gave her son a swift smack upside the head. (2)

"Roy!" his aqua-haired mother chided him harshly. "Will you knock it off these childish antics? It is rude and disgraceful in front of her majesty!"

She quickly turned around and humbly bowed, her flowing ponytail dancing behind herself.

"My sincere apologies for my son's actions, your majesty. I promise it won't happen again."

A brief moment.

She cleared her throat, and then abruptly pushed her son forward.

"Oh. I - um, sorry about that, Lady Liza."

_"__Roy…!" _

Both Lyn and Roy were only greeted with a jovial chuckle from the Queen herself. Even Elice placed her fingers to her lips, holding back her own laughter – much to her brother's disgruntlement. Naturally her sister would be in on the joke and wouldn't tell him.

"Lyn, we've known each other for years now. You, Roy, and Eliwood are still allowed to call me and my family by name. Please - come now and sit with us."

"Oh. Only on your insistence, my Lady…"

Queen Liza welcomed her to the table and the two older women exchanged pleasantries, asking each other about their current state of affairs. Meanwhile, Marth sat properly in his chair this time, with Roy pulling up a nearby stool to the table as well.

_"__How is Sir Eliwood? I last heard from Elice that he has been recovering nicely the last few months..." _

"So…!" Roy gave a cheeky grin and waggling eyebrows. "Any word from Chrom about our mystery girl…? I wanted to talk to him earlier, but he's been running around everywhere all evening. That punk."

"Oh, we're bringing _this_ up now, huh?"

"Mystery girl…?" Elice curiously looked away from her compact mirror, now becoming interested in the discussion. "What mystery girl?"

"Marth didn't tell you? Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick had rescued a girl during an escort mission a week or two ago. Apparently, there are no files of this girl's existence in the city's records, with only one documentation of a possible, but dead, biological parent."

Elice brought her hands to her lips in an intrigued expression. "Really now…?"

_"__Ah, yes definitely. His health only grows stronger each passing day – in fact, he was feeling well enough to come by this evening. I last saw him having a brief word with your husband by the gardens today…" _

"From what I've overheard from the Shepherds' barracks," Roy continued. "She also has no memories of her past whatsoever, except of her own name. But she was strong enough to hold her own during the battle that broke out during the mission."

"Huh. What an interesting situation indeed."

"But from the looks of it," Marth interjected, pouring himself a glass of water from the table pitcher and taking a drink. "Chrom didn't seem too keen on talking about it when I brought it up earlier. Well – right before he ran off to fix whatever the Shepherds were breaking at that moment."

In the corner of his eye, the Altean prince saw his sibling briefly write a small memo on a post-it note before folding it close and tucking it unto the pocket of her handbag.

"The city's records sometimes overlook the major database and news archival we have at the Academy's library. I may look into it to help our dear cousin – I'm rather curious of who his lady friend is after all."

"Well, for now," Marth firmly decided. "I don't think it's a good idea to make Chrom talk about it if he doesn't want to. Let's just drop it for now – when he wants to clear up the whole thing, he'll bring it up himself."

"Pshh, you're no fun," Roy jokingly poked at his best friend and stuck out his tongue.

Marth let out a small laugh and shook his head. "No doubt, you and Peach would be a riot together – with getting into others' business and whatnot."

"Wait, who…?"

_'__Oh right. They haven't fully met yet.' _

"Don't worry about it," Marth waved it off. "She's one of our good friends back at Iwata. You'll meet her soon enough."

A clinking of silverware to a champagne glass quickly got the table's attention, who peered down below the banister to the source of the sound. There, by the black polished podium was the ruler of all United Archanea, King Cornelius of the royal house of Lowell. (3)

"Your attention, if I may…" the king announced on the microphone. Immediately, the ballroom grew quiet to anticipate their king's speech. Roy, Lyn, and the royal family looked on intently from above.

"I personally want give thanks to my dearest wife, Liza, who her and her staff had spent the last few weeks scheduling and planning for this gorgeous event to come in fruition," he began, beaming a loving smile to the Queen. "I would also like to thank the wonderful team of hard workers we have here at the castle grounds – to the chiefs, musicians, attendants and servants, you all deserve our sincere gratitude from me and our lovely guests for the brilliant presentation this evening."

A brief moment of clapping broke through from the ballroom. Once quiet again, Cornelius continued on.

"I cannot begin to describe how grateful I am of the sovereignty and longevity that has long ruled over this beautiful nation I call home…"

Marth had listened with half-opened ears, already predicting how his father's bi-annual speech goes by memory. At every banquet the Lowell family had hosted in the past years, his father has been known to recycle the same speech every time, with minor tweaks and changes to fit the current politics or social issues at the given time.

Of course, it wasn't because Cornelius was not intelligent enough to make a different speech every time. But Marth knew his father – after spending much of his physical energy and mental fortitude on meeting with political powers, working with the Archanean parliament, and signing away important bills and legislation, Cornelius would take advantage of cutting out extra work that he could get away with.

_"__It is to my endeavor that we, as united people, open our minds and hearts to the suffering that is at hand of our allies in the east. War, poverty, destruction…"_

He could hear Roy next to him exhale a small breath and continue tapping his thumb to the right pocket of his pants, as if fighting the urge to check the time on his phone. Elice, as always, remained composed along with her mother, eyes completely focused on the King.

_ "__I firmly believe it is our duty as we, garnered together under our great goddess, Naga, that we continue fighting for what is right, not just for ourselves, but for all of creation together…" _(4)

His eyes aimlessly wandered the ballroom once more, observing the guests who sat in their tables on the two lower levels. Most of the guests were politely all eyes and ears, although a few continued to nibble on their plates. He did spotted one or two older gentlemen meandering on their phones and a few young teenagers whispering to each other. His thoughts left to drift on about the rest of the gallery - were they genuinely listening to his father's words, or were they, too, putting up a front?

_"__And I…" _

A pregnant pause. The prince's ears immediately perked up in growing anticipation – it was very unlike his father to hesitate during a speech in front of such an important crowd.

"I…am growing old. The prime of my youth has now come and gone."

Murmurs of confusion and worry spread rampant among the audience. Roy and the royal siblings were quick to sit up straight in their seats, waiting for King Cornelius to continue. Marth's expression remained firm; the King was still in good health according to the royal doctors in question – had his father been hiding an illness from him and his family? For how long?

"Now, now, everyone rest assured – I am not sick in any way and I still have a good long rest of my life to live. But I cannot stand here today at the stage of life I am in without acknowledging the consideration of a successor – the heir to take my place when my time comes."

Marth felt the invitees' uneasiness shift towards him and his family all at once. The unexpected spotlight his father put on him caused him to break into a sweat.

"But never – never once did a seed of uncertainty come into my mind if my time were to come. I could never ask for such a glowingly gifted son and a loyal, resourceful daughter, who will one day succeed my wife and I."

The royal heir hated to admit it, but with the demanding work, leadership responsibilities, and academic studies that accrued over the few years, he never once allowed himself the really think about the possibility of his own parents no longer being by his side. Sure, he didn't see his parents as much; they all are very busy people, in consideration of their position in power after all. However, the most strenuous of time restraints never stopped the royal monarch from reaching out to their son.

A simple good morning text from his mother he received daily. A playful office visit from his sister every now and again. Or even an evening phone call from his father once a week, who went out of his way to make sure his son was doing alright.

Each and every of these little, precious moments were all taken for granted…until now.

For his whole life, Marth had been training and preparing himself as future leader and ruler over all of United Archanea. And yet…was he truly ready for the moment his father inevitably resigns, or even passes, and for his coronation as the new King soon after?

Will he, not his father, but him alone, be good enough for his people?

Will he ever be good enough?

"I know now, not just as a fellow father, but as leader to people I call my own, that our kingdom is in the best hands – no, _better_ hands than I could ever dream of for the future of Archanea."

Marth's chest began to feel uncomfortably tight, as if a vice-like grip was squeezing the air from his lungs. Perhaps it was the ill-set nervousness that overtook him since his mentioning in his father's speech, or the urgent feeling to escape away from this place that filled his heart. He let out a small cough before hastily looking around in case anyone was looking at him, but for once, all eyes were not on the Archanean heir, but on their beloved King Cornelius.

_"__Without a shadow of doubt, I know that my Marth, my own son and future King of Archanea, will faithfully lead our people for a prosperous time yet to come, just as I and my father's ancestors have continually done for the last 475 years...!"_

The room erupted in a grand applause, some even up from their seats for a standing ovation. Roy and Elice stood up and clapped proudly, his mother gingerly wiping happy tears from her glistening eyes.

And yet the pale-faced prince stayed still in his chair, not knowing what to think.

Nevertheless, Marth's eyes traced back up towards the wall, scaling up the marble pillars and beyond.

Atop the monarchial canopy, over the highly decorated throne and up towards the ceiling, laid the most iconic and treasured sword of Altea and all of United Archanea. The fabled sword, blessed by her holiness Naga and steeped in his ancestors' royal bloodline, had bested the Shadow Dragon, Medeus – the beast that once wrecked havoc among the Archanean continent long ago. (5) The very same weapon would then defeat the villainous mage, who once plagued Earthania centuries past.

That heroic sword, drawn by the blood and honor shed for of his homeland, was simply known by the one and only name.

The legendary Falchion.

* * *

A soft sigh against the white-washed wall.

The pink-haired tactician, after what seemed like hours, finally got up from her mattress to gaze outside the cool glass window. She already had a good inspection of her new dorm room, located in the Diana Dormitory Building on the western side of the Fils-Aime campus, and read the crinkled post-it note her new roommate had left her twice already.

.

.

_"To future roommate:_

_Please make yourself at home! I was afraid I was going to be all alone this year since my assigned roommate was unable to attend Fils-Aime this semester, but it's so great to hear that you will take her place!_

_Feel free to put your things wherever you choose. I'm busy at my family's fitness center all day, but I'll be sure to see you Sunday evening. _

_I hope we become good friends! :)))_

_\- Trainer (odd nickname, I know)"_

.

.

Her view out the window was of the few newly remodeled school buildings, now vacant for the weekend. The rest of the surrounding area was covered with lofty willow and evergreen trees and shrubbery dispersed on the greenery. A few of the battle school's students were seen past the trees and off in the distance, enjoying their free time after a long busy week.

Robin's meager belongings, while now organized into neat piles, were still hastily strewn about the dorm room and awaiting to be unboxed and put away. Even after making sure all her paperwork was completed and finances secured, she couldn't bring herself to touch her new clothes, school supplies, and personal necessities Chrom and Lissa had graciously helped pick out. The lingering feeling of loneliness had fogged up her focus on simple daytime tasks, causing her to pace on the floor numerous times and uncharacteristically procrastinate.

The strategist fell onto her uncovered mattress one more time in a loud _'fwump!'_ and stared at the ceiling tiles once again.

_'__Gods, what is wrong with me?' _Robin's forehead furrowed in slight frustration before rubbing her eyes with open palms and letting out a soft groan.

Despite her exceptional intellect, she couldn't put a finger on the emotions she was feeling at that very moment. It wasn't quite like remorse, or in the same realm as sadness and grief. It was closer to the feeling of longing, or even within reach of homesickness.

And yet, how?

How could she understand these feelings if she didn't have an ounce of recollection of her past life? Not even a single inkling of memory has come to her since she last remembered her own name. Was she beginning to feel regret when she turned down Chrom's offer to stay with him and his sheep herding friends at their special academy? To not stay with the very people she's known and been familiar with since her amnesia took root?

No.

She shook her head to shake out the doubtful thoughts.

She remained bold in her decision begin her life here, not at Iwata Academy. Of course, there was no doubt she was beyond grateful for Chrom's help in getting her new life put together, and somehow working his magic to get her admitted into Fils-Aime Battle School, even after the school year had already began. Nevertheless, she knew that no matter what, restarting her life from the ground up was going to be difficult and refuse to back down on the only life decision she felt she had control over.

Peering over to her desk to her right, a bright green folder from the urgent care clinic shone clearly underneath the Chrom's manila envelope he received from the city hall. The sight of her medical records sparked thoughts of reminiscence; the very few first memories she had with Chrom and his company the last few days were the only things she had left now.

* * *

_"The best diagnosis I have, according to Robin's symptoms, is-a unexplained lacunar amnesia." _(6)

_Chrom patiently sat in the good doctor's office on a small, leather stool, as he continued listening to Dr. Mario's conclusion to Robin's condition. Behind the doctor were half-opened blinds to a glass window, revealing a hallway and two dressing rooms - Robin, already out of the patient gown she was given and back into her tactician clothes, was seen exiting out of one of the dress rooms and into the reception room on the other side. _

_"While you and your friends were away, I had her undergo an MRI scan in case there was any visible brain damage. To my surprise..." he switched on a nearby x-ray light box on the wall behind him, then placed the scans on top. "There doesn't seem to be any sign of internal damage, bleeding, swelling, or abnormal growth in the brain at all. Even with-a having a minor concussion, all the 'pipes' and 'valves' up there are workin' a-okay. So far, she seems capable of-a preserving memories from this point on."_

_The Ylissian let out a big sigh of relief, then asked, "Is there any way we could reverse the effects? Maybe even getting any of her old memories back?" _

_Dr. Mario's mouth twitched down slightly, then clicked his tongue in his cheek in response. _

_"That, my friend, is-a question I do not have an answer to just yet. According to these scans and neuro tests, I see that there is not a physical sign or showing of memory loss whatsoever - other possible explanations for the amnesia that it may have been triggered from trauma or possible signs of PTSD. However...I must-a say, this is a rather odd case - perhaps even out-a my own field of knowledge. I'm-a man of science, but am not one to deny a possible supernatural explanation. If this is an endeavor you truly want-a solve, I could try and find one o' my colleagues who'll run further in depth into Robin's amnesia. But that, my friend, is-a up for you and her to look into." _

_The physician looked at Chrom with a leveling degree of seriousness before continuing. _

_"__I can send a referral for Robin to see a mental health specialist if she so chooses, but considering that she no longer has-a, what you say, 'strings attached' in terms of her past – no documentation of-a living blood relatives…it may be for the best to let her decide what she wants to do with her life." _

_The navy-haired prince looked deep in thought, eyes darting from the doctor to the outside window, where the hood of the Plegian's tactician coat was seen at the edge of the windowsill. Thankfully, Frederick had let him speak privately to the mustached doctor and instead, kept an eye on Robin outside. Dr. Mario cleared his throat after leaning against a hard countertop nearby. _

_"__Aside from the amnesia prognosis, Robin is in-a perfectly good health. No signs of debilitating diseases or physical illnesses. In fact, she is, without doubt, mentally functional and emotionally capable enough to make her own life choices and give consent as she pleases."_

_"What do you think is best for Robin, doctor?"_

_"__As you could a-say, I'm in-a favor of helping those who want it – I'll gladly help Robin regain any of her memories if it is possible, but I'll leave it to Robin's consent at-a end of the day." _

* * *

She was now sitting upright against the wall with her knees hugging her chest, concentrated on testing her memory. So far, Robin hasn't had large bouts of forgetfulness, so an ongoing indication of memory loss didn't deter her. Closing her eyes, she exercised how much she could remember since her doctor's visit.

_'The blood test... more documents...mother... mother's name?'_

She strained to remember what her biological mother's name without fishing out her copy of personal records. Robin refused let herself be helpless now that she was on her own.

_'Lily? No, I believe it's…Lilith.'_

The name brought a sad smile to her face, now realizing she will never remember her mother's love or caring touch. All she had left of an small image of her mother was a faded, black and white photo stuck between the papers she received from Chrom, which appeared to be a "missing" advertisement clipping from an old newspaper, and one signed document, which appeared to be small legal certificate allocating all her wealth and possessions to be given to her "beloved daughter, Robin."

Everything else were just a few arbitrary school reports from various elementary schools and photos of what appeared to be Lilith's friends and distant relatives, but no mention of Lilith, her close family, or Robin herself. Not even a single birth certificate from either party.

But even without any childhood memories of her mother or father, she still had some sort of proof of her mother's kindness left with her. Or at least, inside the underground bank vault for now. Robin chuckled to herself, remembering the evening a few days ago, when Dr. Mario received her blood test results and confirmed there was clear a DNA match between her and the aforementioned "Lilith", but no known DNA matches for a biological father - at least, within the city's archival system.

* * *

_Once getting the proper paperwork, signed by Dr. Mario and various paralegal associates, Robin accompanied with Chrom and Lissa, headed over to the United Smashbank of Nintendo-Land in the middle of the metropolitan area. _(7)_ Upon entering the large, granite building, the trio saw the only one bank attendant at the front desk; a purple pelican in heavy makeup and with the name tag 'Phyllis' was seen cruelly laughing at a patron in line after tricking him into thinking he had a million gold coins in his checking account. _(8)

_"__Well, that person_ isn't_ very friendly at all," Lissa whispered, adding a small hmph. Chrom quickly shushed her once they were first in line. _

_"__What d'ya want?" Phyllis exasperated in a tired sigh, then muttered something along the lines of _'…and make it snappy…!'

_"__We're here for repossession over a bank account that belonged to a deceased relative…" Robin was quick to the point, handing over the necessary documents. Both her and Chrom did not wanting to delay the worker any longer and be on the brunt of cranky insults. _

_To be expected, undergoing the arduous task of changing primary owners of said bank account this late in the evening meant dealing with the banker's passive-aggressive grumbles throughout the whole transaction. Lissa, who stood behind the duo, crossed her arms and bit her bottom lip to keep herself from bursting out something impolite. _

_After a few minutes of clicking away on the keyboard, Phyllis' eyes quickly widened before mumbling something incoherent. _

_"__I beg your pardon…?" _

_The middle-aged bird pointed a shaky feathered wing straight at Robin. "You. You have 5,009,450 G in your personal account as of right now." _(9)

_Chrom narrowed his eyes and frowned deeply. "Ma'am, I understand that we came at a late time at night, but if this is a joke, it isn't funny." _

_"__Like I wish it weren't a joke…!" Phyllis snorted before scooting back her chair and getting up from the desk. She tilted her screen monitor to face the two. _

_"__If you don't believe me, fine. I don't care. I'm getting my supervisor anyways."_

_Robin's eyes scanned across the bank statement, which to her surprise, actually proved the pelican's assertion to ring true. _

_"__No…this cannot be…" All three looked at each other in mild bewilderment, not truly accepting what was in front of them. _

_Within the next few minutes, Phyllis' supervisor, a short, green Toad known as Banktoad, lead Phyllis, Robin, and the Ylissian siblings into a private elevator at the back of the office, then down a long stretch of hallway beneath the ground level. _(10)_ After bypassing the security codes and locks set in place, all four of them were then escorted into a small vaulted room, filled with various metal lockers and cabinets. _

_Banktoad quietly unlocked one of the drawers and heaved out a large, metal tray onto the steel table set in the center of the room. There, inside the rectangular tray, were 5 solid gold bricks, as thick as two paper-back dictionaries pressed together, along with a few neat stacks of paper bills, and gold and silver coins. The sheer look of Chrom, Lissa, and the bank clerk's priceless faces after unveiling the massive amount of gold in physical form was enough to make Robin laugh out loud._

* * *

_"__This was all we could get the city hall's database. I'm sorry I couldn't get as much, but I hope it helps you somehow."_

_Chrom had finally handed over the smooth manila folder to Robin, after checking and double-checking if this was the right choice for her. Both now sitting in front of the stone stairs that guarded the gated entrance of Fils-Aime Battalion campus grounds, the two were ready to say their goodbyes._

_A day or two after the debacle at the bank, it was certain that Robin had enough funds to live well in the city for at least the next few years. Yet, finding her purpose and what to do with the rest of her life plagued Robin's thoughts throughout the day and into the night. The amnesiac Plegian realized that while she was left with no memories of her old life, she had immense knowledge within the magic arts and combat strategy in exchange - a gift she herself could not explain, but also could not leave to waste. _

_After reflecting on her life's purpose for a bit, the thought of Nintendo-Land's specialized schools finally occurred to her. Perhaps attending one of the city's battle schools to study, test, and hone her abilities will help her piece together any clues to her previous life. Whether or not it was the intention of her foregone mother, Robin knew there was a reason why she began anew at Nintendo-Land, and beginning her studies here could reveal any answers to the mysteries left in her past. _

_Chrom, who had consistently stayed by her side after the initial escort mission was long finished, happily suggested that she would make a great addition to Iwata Academy and that he could easily lend a hand in getting her into the highly-established battle school. Even with the large wealth she had at her disposal, the Ylissian heir offered to take up any tuition and school fees if she were to accept being a part of his Shepherding group as part of the personal scholarship. _

_In the end, it was Robin who decided figuring out her the intricacies of her past was something she must do on her own. And while she very much appreciated both Chrom and Lissa, who went out of their way to help her with, she herself decided it was best for her to attend a different school. Chrom was obviously disappointed no matter how he tried to hide it, but continued to support his new friend adjust to the city. He even used his own resources to get her placed into the school, weeks after the autumn semester had already began. _

_Once passing the city's general boarding exam with flying colors, it was clear that Robin was on her way to become Fils-Aime Battle School's newest student. _

_"Chrom, I..." Robin began surprised that she was unsure on finding the right words. "I want to thank you for everything you've done. You were never obligated to assist me. But you did anyway. I couldn't have done any of this by myself – not without you."_

_"__It was the least I could do. After all, I owe you my life." _

_Chrom paused for a brief moment once the realization of he just said dawned on him. He coughed, and then let out a nervous chuckle as Robin felt a strange déjà vu moment similar to when they first met during the escort mission. _

_"__Er – hey! Before I forget, I have one more thing to give you before I let you go," the bluenette reached inside the pack he had next to him before revealing a moderately-sized bronze sword. It appeared to be the one bandit leader used during the village raid a week ago. _

_"__I believe you deserved your share of the dropped loot," Chrom carefully handed the blade into Robin's hands. Robin gripped the hilt, feeling for the sword's weight and size. "You were the one who put the finishing blow on the bandit leader. Perhaps it could be of use to you here." _

_"__Chrom…thank you."_

_They both looked at each other with a fleeting smile, before Chrom stood up from the bottom step and dusted his pants. _

_"__Okay. Last time, I promise," he turned to face Robin once more as she got up as well. _

_"__Are you sure you want to go here? It's never too late to change your mind." _

_The young woman eyed the ground for a brief second, before looking steadfast at Chrom once more. _

_"__I'm sure. This is where I need to be."_

_A small pause. _

_"__I…hope you can understand. This is something I have to do on my own…at least, for myself."_

_Chrom sighed, but didn't look upset at Robin's final choice. In fact, he looked rather bittersweet at their parting ways._

_"__Alright. I understand," There was a slight sense of relief found in his voice. "But – if you decide to join the Shepherds later on, you can always give me a call. Our offer has no expiration date." _

_He took out his iPhone and held it out. "You got my number, right?" _

_Robin nodded. "Yes." _

_"__You can also call me about other things or just want to talk whenever since I'm always available - er, I mean, only if you want to. Unless you don't want to – then forget it, that's fine too! But you totally can of course…uh…" _

_ "__I get it." _

_She interfered before he could keep digging himself further. Robin tried her best not to smile or chuckle as she saw her friend struggle to contain his embarrassment._

_"Goodbye, Chrom. I hope our paths cross again in the near future."_

_"As do I. Goodbye, Robin."_

_The tactician gave a nod and one more heartfelt smile before turning around and heading toward the entrance way. __He looked on from a distance until she made her way into the women's dorm building and ___was safely past the entrance_ a few yards away. _

_Chrom sighed again, then sat back on the steps facing the empty highway for a few seconds._

_Then for a few more minutes. _

...

_It was nearly a quarter till midnight when he finally got up again and headed back to the nearest transit stop. _

* * *

The downtown Starbeans location was bustling more than usual for a weekday.

Nestled in between the high class hotels and five-star restaurants, the intersection of Rainbow Road and Termina Avenue was lively with small crowds of people crossing the sidewalls and grid-like streets. (11) On this particularly chilly Monday mid-afternoon, the small coffee shop on the corner was rather busy as the line to the cashier nearly extended out to the glass entrance and many of the caffeine-craving customers flowed in and out of the thriving lounge. Out on the small wood deck were sleek silver tables and chairs underneath large patio umbrellas. Various young city dwellers of different walks of life enjoyed the autumn sunshine and buzzing conversation, all while sipping on the cafe's seasonal pumpkin-spice lattes and hot mochas.

On the left-most corner sat a slender figure, who wore a pearly-white sundress and had long verdant hair which fell past her back and waist like a waterfall. On her person was a golden laural wreath and a thick gold necklace chain that sparkled brightly in the daylight. The tall woman simply waited at the table, staring off into the ever expanding city street while swirling the cream in her tea. Only then did the arrival of a certain friend catch her attention.

"Rose...!"

She saw her fair-haired friend from afar, with her golden companion held in her arms. Rose had clearly come straight from her afternoon class, as she was still wearing her school uniform and carried her blue schoolbag. The green-haired girl stood from her seat and called her friend over, right before both girls greeted each other with a warm embrace.

"Tena...it's been a long time," the academy student set down her bag before taking up the adjacent chair. Immediately, Luma jumped from her arms and underneath the small table, nestling close to her feet.

"Too long, my dear," Tena sat back down before offering Rose another cup of tea, which she happily accepted.

"So...?"

The older Toadstool princess remained unmoved from her friend's glinting eyes and mischievous smile. "Yes...?"

"You've been too busy to even talk to me on the phone – wait-a-minute, is it a new boyfriend isn't it?! I_ knew_ it – sooner or later, it was going to be a boy who would steal you from me! Oh goddesses, woe is me!"

A long sigh, not out of annoyance but mild affection.

"Not at all. I'm really sorry for the lack of communication - I've been a bit distracted lately."

Lady Tena eyed her mid-sip.

"You? Distracted?"

"...I meant with classes. It's my last year in Iwata after all."

She immediately picked up on Rose's carefully worded cover-up. Tena gently placing the porcelain teacup back on the saucer and looked at her friend closely.

"You haven't told them yet, have you...?"

Rose stayed quiet for a moment before calmly facing her friend back.

"You haven't told _him_ either, have you not...?"

"Okay, okay, understood. No need to get your panties in a bunch."

Just one serious look from her friend was enough for her to drop the topic as she raised her hands in temporary surrender. The girls then continued to enjoy their tea in silence, the sounds of cars passing by and the people around them filling the quiet space between the two. Finally, the Skyworldian broke the silence by posing another question. (12)

"Let's cut to the chase - I take it that you're here for more than just tea time. Unless you actually did want to tell me about a secret lover, I'm assuming it's something more serious."

Rose stared at her half-empty ivory teacup. She could feel Luma's soft fur against her legs as her dear pet napped at her shoes.

"The cosmos..." she started. "Have you heard of anything since the last time I asked?"

Tena quirked an eyebrow. "What's brought this up all of a sudden?"

"I was just thinking the other night, a few days ago..." the blonde contemplated. "...about our lives here. What we will be doing here on this realm. And for how long we will..."

The rest was left unsaid, but the two women understood the implication that weighed heavily in their thoughts.

"You know our purpose here. Why we were sent here, the burden we must carry, and our duty to the people of Earthania. You know full well that everything I know has never satisfied your musings."

"Are you to imply we must spend the rest of our lives here?" Rose countered. "You know that we have no place here, nor will we ever belong here, no matter how much we try to convince ourselves."

"I do not have an answer to that - not one that you would like," Tena's lips stayed pressed together in a rigid line. "But if it means protecting what needs to be protected, if it means passing 'it' down to our offspring and dying here to hide who we truly are, I will gladly do it if it means slowing the inevitable."

Rose let out an embittered sigh and twisted the loose fabric from her yellow sweater vest.

What had gotten into her? What was it that pushed her to argue with the only person who understood her situation more than anyone else?

"To answer your question from before, the cosmos are a quiet front. Like always."

"I...see."

Tena pouted when she saw her friend finish her tea with slumped shoulders.

"I take it all back. Fate is being a total jerk right now."

* * *

Never did an open window and cool wind felt so delightful.

Robin opened up the window on the back wall to let in a breath of the fresh air after taking a break from studying for the past few hours. She finally got her act together and unpacked all her things; now that her possessions were organized and settled, the ambrosia-hued teen wasted no time working hard catch up in her classes. If she was going to redefine her life and purpose, she promised herself that she would have a good start on her life from here on out. Simply looking out at the bright sky behind the white spruce trees calmed her being and soothed any leftover nerves she had.

_'No need to worry anymore. Everything is going to be alright.'_

The sound of something soft banging against hard wood pulled her back into reality.

"Ouch...!"

The strategist spun around to see her dorm mate painfully rubbing at her hip along with her notebook, her half-opened manila folder, and a few school books sprawled across the floor. She quickly went over to check if Trainer was alright.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh! Sorry about that," Trainer squatted down to pick up the mess on the ground. "I wasn't paying attention and ran into your desk. Don't worry, I'll pick everything up!"

"As long as you're alright, no harm done. Here, let me help."

The two gathered most of her tousled notes and books in their arms and back onto her desk, Robin took most of the loose legal paperwork, pushed it back into the manila envelope, and carefully placed it next to her school supplies.

"Hey...I think this fell out of your envelope over there. Probably want to be careful with it, it looks important."

Robin turned over and there, in Trainer's hands, was a dark blue, open-winged butterfly mask.

* * *

**To be continued...**

* * *

**Author's Note: **

GUESS WHO'S BACK IN SUPER SMASH BROTHERS, BITCHES?!

MOTHER-FRICKIN' **ROY, **THAT'S WHO…! I knew my baby boy would come back! I just knew it in my heart! Take that _HATERS._

Okay, this is probably old news by now, but to this day, I am still super hyped! Fortunately for me, I had an inkling of a huge leak that was happening online, so the day before the direct, I simply stayed off the internet. Thus, the super big reveal of Roy and Ryu from the Nintendo Direct was still a major surprise to me! My god, I couldn't stop smiling and laughing even after hours from the direct!

And let me tell you, by BOY just got sexier in Smash! Damn!

Anyhoo, enough with the fangirling. Onto more important things.

Finally got an update out this month, and if it looks like I given up on life -you are correct! Well, it's more like I couldn't stop writing and now this chapter is way longer than I wanted it to - I had to cut certain scenes out, and it's still too long! I **promise**, I'll do my best to cut down on chapters now! All the text seems so dense! *embarrassed sigh* In terms of the medical diagnosis, I tried my best to stay as accurate as possible - but if there are any readers who happen to be medical professionals, let me know if I've made an error!

Since it's summer time where I live, I've been spending a lot of time out on the beach and enjoying the nice weather. Taking a lot of pictures of the scenic west coast made me think of how I could use these in my story. Exploring the rocky Oregon coast also got me to think of how I will write the Autumn Tourney Retreat, but that won't come into play until later down the road! Walking around the downtown area of my own city gives me inspiration of how to showcase Nintendo-Land. Nintendo-Land is a large city, but is not as nearly condensed in comparison to cities like LA or New York in real life.

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

_"__**sorutan: **__Wow, hon, the quality of your writing jumped up significantly in this chapter, like tenfold! I'm realm anticipating the rest of the plot and I can't wait to see what happens! Including Robin, my soft spot for my lovely rose colored lady :') Btw thank you for the shout out love you rock!" _

Thank you, dear friend sorutan! This gives me more courage to put my writing out there, and I always try my best to improve! I hope I get better from here on out! Since Awakening never really touched on Robin's past, I hoping to explain more of my own theories of where Robin came from and about her memory loss - of course, everything from here on out is my own speculation based off of canon. Once everyone is well introduced, I hope to pick up the story's pace from thereon.

((Pssst...to everyone else, please check out her story, "Time Mistress" by the lovely _sorutan_ herself! IT'S GR8))

_"__**Guest: **__This is amazing, please keep at it. It's really impressive how well you make the characters fit the HS/Uni setting, and how you keep them all unique in their own ways, while making them all act like they're realistically in their late teen/early 20's. Also the little index you put at the end of each chapter is a nice touch. Hard to believe this is your first story. Can't wait to read the next chapter!" _

Thank you so much! I try my best to stay faithful to each unique personality every character brings to the table - as well as envisioning how they are and how they interact with each other at a younger age in modern time. It's a mix of character study + observing real life teenagers/young adults, haha! I also love including small tidbits and cameos from other Nintendo games to make the atmosphere of Nintendo-Land more believable. A few things I add are a bit niche or not well known, so I decided to add an index to nearly every chapter to avoid confusion to casual readers.

To everyone else, thank you so much for the support, whether you've dropped a review every now and then or just stay tuned for my updates and keep reading SoG! I can't say thank you enough for all my followers!

Will Marth be able to carry on such a task to rule a kingdom someday? Why is Palutena's name shortened, like Rose's? What exactly are they hiding from everyone? And that butterfly mask... to find out, stay tuned for the next upcoming chapter, **Nazlanmak**!

**\- A. Mitsuni**

* * *

**Index: **

(1) Liza is a character in _Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi_, _Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, _and the remakes. She is the mother of Marth and Elice, the wife of Cornelius, and the queen of Altea. In Earthania, Lady Liza currently serves as Queen of United Archanea.

(2) Lyndis, also known as Lyn, is of swordmaster class and one of the three main characters (along with Hector and Eliwood) of _Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken _or _Fire Emblem_ in North America. In this instance, she is the wife to Lord Eliwood and mother to Roy. She, along with her husband, reside in the nation Lycia within the continent of Elibe, under the ruling noble house Pharae.

(3) Cornelius is a mentioned character from _Fire Emblem: AnkokuRyū to Hikari no Tsurugi_and _Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon_. In this universe, he is the current king of United Archanea, and the father of Marth and Elice and husband of Liza, their mother.

(4) Naga is a recurring character in the _Fire Emblem _franchise, specifically with Archanea, Ylisse, and Jugdral. Naga is the leader of the Divine Dragons, but due to her sympathy for humanity and great power, is often hailed as a god.

(5) Medeus, also known as the Shadow Dragon, is a dark dragon and the primary antagonist of the first Fire Emblem game, _Fire Emblem: AnkokuRyū to Hikari no Tsurugi_. He returned in _Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem_ as the final boss. Long ago, Medeus was once a prince of the Earth Dragon royal family, but when the dragons were forced to take Manakete form, he was the only Earth Dragon who complied and thus did not go wild. Over time, he became furious over how humans looked down upon his race, so he formed the Doluna Empire and enslaved humanity. He was eventually defeated by the hero Anri (an ancestor of Marth), and his kingdom was destroyed.

(6) Lacunar amnesia is the loss of memory about one specific event and is a type of amnesia that leaves a lacuna (a gap) in the record of memory.

(7) According to a screenshot of a paper bill in Super Smash Brothers for 3DS/Wii U, the name Smashbank was used on the bill in game. Hence in Earthania, the official bank in Nintendo-Land is known as such. This is based off of this image: (image link provided on blog in my profile).

(8) Phyllis is a pelican character who works the night shift as a clerk for the Post Office and Town Hall in the _Animal Crossing_ series. She is the older, considerably the more anti-social, aloof, and arrogant sister of Pelly, who works during the day. She is most notable for her snappy, rude attitude towards players.

(9) Gold (G) is the universal currency used in Earthania. While certain other nations use their own currencies, such as Animal Villages (towns associated to Animal Crossing series) using Bells, or Hylian Kingdom/territories using Rupees, Gold is used and accepted worldwide. In Nintendo-Land city, while it's official currency is Smashbank dollars/paper bills (SBD), it's most common currency used by its' citizens is Gold (G).

(10) The Banktoad was a green toad that appeared in the game, _Super Mario Galaxy 2. _When said player collects some Star Bits, they could deposit and withdraw their star bits to Banktoad at Starship Mario instead of carrying them around on their person.

(11) Rainbow Road is the name of the last racecourse of the Special Cup in each of the Mario Kart series. Rainbow Road is infamous for its difficulty among players, with the race course filled with unique hazards and tight turns. Termina is the land where the story in the game,_ The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask,_ unfolds. Because many of the people and creatures Link meets in Termina are almost identical in appearance to certain inhabitants of Hyrule, Termina is often thought of as a parallel world to Hyrule.

(12) Skyworld, also known as Angel Land, is the land that is ruled by the Goddess Palutena in the _Kid Icarus_ franchise. In this story, Skyworld is one of the oldest kingdoms with its inhabits mostly the winged-race known as "Angels" among Centurions and other species of flight. According to Skyworld mythology and lore in Earthanian history, the Goddess Palutena once ruled over the Skyworld Kingdom long ago before ascending to a higher plane of existence.

**EDIT: **Wording. More wording. More wording.


	9. Chapter Nine: Nazlanmak

**Chapter 9:** Nazlanmak

* * *

**Nazlanmak:** (Turkish) (v.) _pretending reluctance or indifference when you are actually willing or eager; saying no and meaning yes._

* * *

The sudden shade from sunlight was what woke Link up from his third nap that day.

A hooded Hylian briefly lifted the soft cowl that covered his face and lazily opened one eye to see his feather-winged friend, Pit, who greeted him with a toothy smile from above.

"Good morning, sunshine! Or, should I say good afternoon, haha! I was wondering where you wandered off to – whoa, wait!"

Pit sputtered in surprise and frantically waved his hands when Link simply put the hood of his sweatshirt over his face again to resume his slumber.

"Aww, c'mon Link! We're about to be up soon for target practice!"

Link let out a quiet chuckle, now no longer able to keep up his straight-faced indifference. He sat up quickly and gently gestured with his hands for angelic friend to calm down after rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

His quiet smile translated to, _'Sorry about that, I was joking.'_

The archery co-captain puffed his cheeks in an amusing pout as he crossed his arms in exaggerated annoyance. "Yeah, yeah, let's go, lazypants!"

Pit floated down the grassy hill and toward the flat, gated field ahead, where the rest of the Fils-Aime archery team lined up for target practice. Link stood for a moment to stretch his arms and legs before gathering his longbow and slinging his full quiver to his waist, then following his teammate behind.

"My arm's still healing up from my last mission, but I should be at least good to go by next week's meet-up," Pit yammered on, extending out his once-injured shoulder. "And – oh gods, I nearly forgot! Lady Tena will actually be able to come by this time – _oh man_, I can't let her down with a shoddy performance! I've gotta amp up my game! Eat more floor ice cream or something!"

Link only responded with stifled chuckles of amusement. Despite their differing personalities, Link was proud to know and have Pit as his first friend since he was first admitted to the school a few weeks ago. Perhaps, he thought to himself, it was their clashing ways that balanced each other out. Of the many people he has already met on campus, he hasn't met some quite as good natured and full of life as Pit.

As the angel opened the gate to let both of them back on the field, Pit paused for a small moment, causing Link to slow to a stop beside him.

"No matter what, I believe we'll pull through this year – this time against Iwata Academy."

Pit glanced over to Link, who reflected the same bold determination in his own face.

"We're gonna prove to our team and theirs that you're one heckuva great shot!"

* * *

"Maribelle, do you have last Tuesday's notes on Dr. Gadd's lecture? I couldn't make it to class that day and I need to know what I missed."

Zelda grimaced at the meager sight of half a sheet of line paper as fair-haired aristocrat stayed focused on filing her nails. For someone who boasted on primp and properness, she hardly paid any interest or effort in her school work. Then again, according to a few of Chrom's shepherds, Maribelle was not one who had to earn her way to the Academy; she was quickly accepted with the help of her family's wealth and influence, only to follow wherever her childhood friend, Lissa, went.

Zelda then turned over to Lissa, who tried paying attention to the study meeting, but was clearly texting on her phone underneath the table as her eyes occasionally darted down toward her lap.

"Lissa...I suppose you, by any chance, may have better notes from last week?"

The Hylian's eyes brightened when Lissa grinned in response and reached for her bag - at least up until the sight of a jumbled pile of crinkled sheets that plopped onto the centerfold of the table. Zelda stood up from her chair, annoyed with a sigh and hands on her hips.

"When I invited you all for a study session this morning, I understood that if you put the effort to come, you would be ready to work. And _not _– " She smoothly moved behind the brunette princess to lift the bridge of her open textbook and setting it aside, which soon revealed a hidden iPad behind her good intentions.

"– continue to waste my time."

Daisy blushed red and turns her tablet over face-down, apologetically mouthing the words 'sorry.'

"Hold up, wait-a-minute," Vaike fished out his old, worn flip phone and tapped away on the number pad. "If my calculations are right – which they always are, by the way – our first test this Friday makes up about... barely 5 percent of our grade. Which means we could easily bomb the test and still pass. Well, not speaking for myself, of course."

The axe-wielding knight confidently rubbed thumbed the bottom of his nose and leaned back on his wood chair with a smug smile. Zelda fought the urge to smack her forehead with the palm of her hand.

"Y-you could use my notes, Lady Zelda. Unless you'd rather not..."

The Hylian heir, along with the rest of the group, looked up for a moment confused.

"Hmm – what now? Who said that?"

"Ah. Over here...in the corner..."

"Oh!"

She nearly startled herself seeing an extra person at the far end of the table by himself. How could she have been blind enough to miss someone in such a small enclosed space?

"I apologize – Kellam, isn't it? If I may, that would be wonderful..." (1)

Zelda promptly thanked him and skimmed through his notebook, but not without swallowing back some guilt. She could've sworn she had counted 4 people total in the room a minute ago.

She took one look again at her bored classmates and internally sighed again. Of all the study groups formed by the professor, she just had to have the luck being assigned with the laziest students she's worked with in her years at Iwata by far. By this point, she was berating herself on pushing her science credits until her third year. Truly, the goddesses had it out for her near-flawless GPA this year. May Her grace Hylia lend her more patience to get through the most basic science classes – Chemistry 101.

And yet, she had to admit to herself that there have been worst scenarios in the past - to their credit, none of the group members were being horrid or mean-spirited to each other after all. However, with the exception of Kellam and Daisy, the study group she was trying to lead wasn't exactly encouraging motivation or hard-working morale amongst each other.

_'Maybe this isn't as bad after all _–_'_

"Alright, good job team! I'm beat!" Lissa suddenly announced as she stretched back her arms and jumped from her chair. "Time for a break! I call going to Gumba Juice for smoothies!" (2)

_' _– _or I thought too soon.'_

"I'm game!"

"I agree, I could use a bulb-berry refresher right now." (3)

"Wait, wait," Zelda interrupted before everyone got up to pack their things. "Hold on a second – look, I'd rather not waste the time slot I reserved for this room just yet."

She moved back to the large white board with a black marker in hand. "At the very least, we should review the end chapter questions before we call it a night – "

The black marker only made a small sliver of a black mark. Irritably, Zelda scribbled and tapped away at the board, but to no avail.

"Are you serious…?"

"Oh man, looks like Miriel must've been slacking off the job if she's leaving dead markers around here…" (4)

Vaike looked up, cross-armed and unimpressed, Maribelle and Lissa were back to their own distractions, leaving only Daisy and Kellam shrugging helplessly. Zelda blew another frustrated exhale before tossing said marker into the waste bin and making her way to the door.

"I'm going to check the next room over – it will only take a minute. I'm sure you guys can wait patiently here until I come back," but not before muttering a disgruntled _'or not,'_ under her breath. At this point, her faith in the group was down the drain and fully expected most of everyone abandoning ship by the time she came back.

Outside the study rooms was the grand and elegant Takeda Reading Room, which stretched wide and long. Rows of occupied reading tables were placed neatly on the center as dozens of dark oak bookshelves lined the far edges of the room. Several old portraits of famous historians and professors of Nintendo-Land past hung proudly on the walls while bits of glimmering sunlight shone through colorful stained glass windows from both ends of the hall. Much of the room was softly lit from the old wooden chandeliers are still suspended from the ceiling.

Most areas of Miyamoto campus library was modernized, the largest reading room on campus were one of the many relics of the past the academy has preserved and maintained over the years. Zelda might have taken her time to enjoy of the vastness of the reading chamber if she was not dead set on getting through the study session.

The royal upperclassman walked swiftly past the study tables and made a bee-line to the nearest study room, which was straight across from hers. She firmly knocked to the door before turning the knob and entering inside.

"I apologize for intruding, but I wanted to see if you had any markers to spare –"

The sight of a certain red-head sprawled across the table and playing a survival horror first-person shooter on the big mounted screen and his good friend, Chrom behind a gray laptop stopped her in her tracks.

"– _really_…?"

Chrom simply shrugged and raised his open palms in mock surrender from the opposite side of the room. "Hey, he's the one who's goofing off. I'm just here to borrow his computer for a bit."

After a brief moment, Roy finally found a safe spot to pause, then turned around.

"Oh hey! It's you. Long time, no see!"

"I just need a dry-erase marker, _please_, since clearly you're not using one right now."

"That's the warm welcome I get after not seeing each other for a year?" Roy rolled over and jumped off the table with open arms. "You break my heart, Zelda..."

Zelda simply rolled her eyes before reaching for the unused markers on the left side of the wall. "Do what you need to do, I need to go back to my study group and get through today, okay?"

"Roy...? Is that – omigosh, it really _is_ you!"

Upon whirling around, she nearly runs straight into Lissa, who suddenly appeared behind her, causing Zelda to stumble back momentarily. Nearly all of her study group apparently did not bother waiting for her and followed her straight over into the next study room – save for Kellam, who was most likely pitifully forgotten once more.

"Liss? My gods, you've gotten taller, haven't you?" He grunted when Lissa launched her entire body onto his, engulfing him in a running bear hug. "Last time I saw you, you were barely past my knee!"

"Hardy-har-har, very funny, Roy..." Lissa nudged her fiery red-haired friend and stuck out her tongue. "What are you even doing here anyways?"

"Just testing out a game I downloaded last night since it was on sale," Roy tossed his controller up in the air. "Your brother, on the other hand, is borrowing the essay I wrote freshman year to turn in tomorrow –"

"I'm not _copying_," Chrom firmly made himself known from the back corner of the room. "I'm just...looking at it. For ideas. But I'm not dumb enough to plagiarize."

Vaike let out a hearty laugh before scooting his chair to join up next to Chrom. Maribelle let out an annoyed moan and shook her head in disdain, then stood beside with Lissa, who was now excitedly catching up with her.

"I hate to interrupt this happy reunion," Zelda quietly cleared her throat along with a worn out expression. "But I take it that we're not going back to studying now, are we...?"

"Studying? For what?" Roy asked.

"For the chemistry quiz tomorrow –"

"– which honestly, is not _that _big of a deal. I could be doing way more important things than sit around in a room doing nothing," Maribelle nonchalantly had one arm to her hip and Lissa nodding in agreement.

"Chemistry…? With Gadd? Dude, why didn't you just say so earlier?" Before Zelda opened her mouth to argue back, Roy knelt down next to his black and red backpack and reached inside the front pocket, pulling out a small thumb drive and tossing it at her direction.

"I was bored one day during our first year and scanned all the notes I took for all of my classes. All you need for chemistry is all in .pdf files. And to be fair, Maribelle has a point – not even the tests are that hard. Professor Gadd thinks assigning study groups helps, but really, his classes are just too damn easy."

"Roy, I –" Zelda examined the USB drive in her hand. The tempting idea of breezing through Chemistry seemed pleasant to her, yet the honorable part of herself swore against the idea of using short-cuts and not being given an honest, hard-earned grade. "Perhaps I should decline. It doesn't seem right…"

"C'mon Zelda, it's not even cheating. At least, I call it _using _your resources _wisely. _You know you want to…"

"I don't know…"

'"Wait a sec, you actually have _all _the notes?! No way! If you're not gonna use it, give it here!"

"Lissa! If I did that, then you would never pay attention in class!" Lissa lunged forward to snag the thumb drive out of her hands, but Zelda reflexively raised it out of reach.

While Lissa and Zelda bickered back and forth, Roy caught the sight of a dark-haired newcomer silently standing by the doorway from the corner of his eye, honing in on the mushroom-shaped lapel pin on the front of her blazer.

"Don't tell me –" Roy pressed his fingers to his forehead and furrowed his brow in concentration, then grinned. "I swear I know – it's Peach, isn't it?"

He immediately blanched when he picked up on the brunette confused look and Lissa's gleeful snickering.

"Off by a long shot, genius," Maribelle piped in sarcastically. "That's Daisy – Peach's younger cousin. Peach's the blonde one, remember?"

"Oh really...?" Roy sheepishly scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. Unbeknownst to all, he felt a slight twinge of disappointment, as he thought he'd finally met this so-called 'Peach' Marth mentioned before. "My bad, I just thought – you know – being from Mushroom Kingdom and all..."

Fortunately for him, Daisy let out a lighthearted laugh and brushed it off. "No worries – honestly, me and Peach look pretty similar other than the hair. You're not the first to make that mistake, for sure."

"Speaking of, where's Peaches anyways?" Lissa pondered out loud.

"Well, the last time I spoke with her, she mentioned about having to retake an exam this afternoon…"

* * *

Peach sighed for what felt like the tenth time and slumped onto her bubblegum pink duvet, her long blond hair spread across her bed sheets and her feet atop her pillows.

After one year in the same duplex, she became an old study to the landscape of her white bedroom ceiling and with today being today, now was no different. Like last year and the years prior, she spent the very same day in her room all alone, with only her cherished framed photo of whom she proudly held the title as her 'champion' wrapped protectively in her arms.

She already returned from retaking a literature test she missed last week much sooner than expected and now had the rest of the afternoon to herself. However, instead of calling up Lissa or Zelda or spend her free time at the waterfront to window shop, she opted to quietly head back to the duplex and retire early to her room. Ever since she awoke this morning, she knew she wasn't going to be in the right frame of mind to distract herself with her friends.

The Toadstool princess tossed and turned in her bed, feeling restless one more time. Classes for her were over for the day, so stress from school or the busyness of her life wasn't the problem. In fact, it was quite the opposite – now that she away and alone with her thoughts, she felt the physically fidgety with her growing feelings and emotions she kept bottled up inside.

Peach finally turned to her side and glared at the true offender of her sour mood: off to the side on her wall, beyond the satin canopy curtains, past the vast barrage of cute animal posters and Polaroid pictures of her dearest friends, laid a pink floral calendar that marked a date at end of the September month in bright red.

_'__ANNIVERSARY,'_ it read. Even a good few feet away the calendar, her cloudy eyes could make out the bold, red statement on white gloss.

She pressed her rosy lips together in a thin frown, mulling over the vagueness of the word. If any stranger looked at her calendar, one may assume a romantic anniversary between a boyfriend or lover, but that was not the case.

_'__The anniversary of when…when Mario saved me…'_

Peach remembered her knight's heroic rescue years ago as clear as day.

Big Bowser's threatening confrontation in the throne room as her and Rose were quickly ushered away by castle servants. The stormy night that followed soon after. Then, suddenly being tied up and captured in a terrifying kidnapping in the safety of her bedroom. She would never be able to shake off the feeling of her body being thrown and locked away into a musty, dark cellar. Or the miserable dread that finally sank in after time passed with no sign of anyone coming to save her.

Right when she hit her lowest point, along came riding in her liberator.

Her hero.

Not a noble castle guard, or a prince charming from a faraway land, but a traveling plumber from humble beginnings – the one who offered his meager services to repair the castle's water system just days prior.

In real life, Mario was just a simple mustached man in a plain red hat, faded jean overalls, and a small tool belt. And yet to the kidnapped princess herself, it felt as if he walked into her life like a knight in shining armor. It didn't matter whether he was rich or what his clothes looked like. It was his strength, bravery, and perseverance to search for her that captivated Peach's devotion. After all this time, over half a decade since the incident and a whole year since she last saw him, her heart skipped a beat just the same as it once did before.

All her friends often say 'absence makes the heart grow fonder.'

But to her, what felt like an eternity away from her wandering protector only made the very soul squeeze painfully in her chest. She could deny over and over to everyone, even to Rose and Daisy…but not to herself.

Her whole being knew the truth.

_'I wonder where on Earth you are right now... Do I ever cross your mind...?' _

"Are you still in here moping?"

Rose's voice quickly brought her crashing back into reality. Peach instinctively shoved the treasured picture frame underneath her pillows and sat up straight away.

"What!" Peach's hair was disheveled from lying down. "Wait, I – Rose, is there something you need right now?"

Her elder sister pulled the door closer to herself, most likely to hide the growing grin on her face. "Ah, no, not really. Just here to remind you that it's your turn to make dinner tonight."

"Oh."

Peach crossed her legs and pouted. "You could've knocked, y'know..."

"You're right, I am sorry about that. I'll knock next time."

Rose paused for a moment, then faced towards the hallway to ask, "...did I just see you hide Mario's picture – " right before quickly shutting the door to dodge Peach's incoming barrage of pillows. Despite being behind the dense wooden door frame, Rose could practically feel the heat radiating off from her younger sibling's face.

* * *

"Run it by me what exactly we're doing here again..."

Little Mac stared up at the colossal podium in front of him, a thin layer of sweat already forming on his brow.

His blonde training partner, back in her spandex orange top and shorts, shot him a mildly dismissive look.

"Don't tell me you've never heard of recovery training before. I thought your coach would've mentioned it by now."

"Hey! This the first year I've ever tried training for this type of tournament," the boxer retorted back. "Go easy on me, will ya'?"

Samus almost snorted out loud. "_I_ may go easy on you for now, but there's no guarantee that your future opponents will be just as merciful."

Mac looked once again at the three set platform and felt uneasy. What appeared to be three sets of platforms on top of each other, each level connected by a ladder on the opposite side. Each level was labeled with signs on the side, starting from the lowest, '7.5 feet', '10 feet', and '15 feet' from the top platform. From his observation, the large structure looked similar to a triple high dive, but as if the swimming pool was replaced with blue sets of foam matting – which surely did not look thick enough to break a nasty fall.

"Aw, is wittle baby pants getting cold feet?" his friend taunted again.

"I'm a boxer! I've been trained to knock out opponents, not –" he flailed a gloved hand towards the high edge of the scaffolding. "– jumping damn near twenty feet into the air!"

"To be fair, your height definitely doesn't help your case here."

"Shut the hell up! Not all of us have lumberjack legs like you!"

Samus tilted her head for a moment. "You know, I should kick your ass for being insulted, but I feel somewhat flattered."

"Well, congratulations – _fine,_" Mac walked behind Samus with crossed arms. "Since _you're_ such an expert, why don't _you_ show me the ropes?"

She naturally shrugged and walked forward. After giving her legs a warm-up stretch, she walked back a few paces before giving way to full-tilt sprint. A couple meters away from the edge of the platforms, Samus used her increasing force to launch herself upwards into an agile front flip. Spinning one whole circle, she then used the strength of her leg to perform a split-leg boost kick to propel her entire body a good couple meters. In a matter of seconds, she landed onto the 10 foot mark with ease; judging from the height of her recovery, Sam could have made it to the 15 foot mark if given more effort.

When she turned around, the former space mercenary couldn't help but delight in Little Mac's dumbfounded expression before climbing down the ladder. She may still have doubts about the incoming freshman before, but at the very least, he kept her fairly entertained during training sessions for now.

"Jokes aside," Now back on the ground, the tone of her voice switched to match her seriousness. "Your recovery move is vital to your move set. The goal of the whole tournament, whether you are in doubles matches or one-on-one, is to knock your opponent off the battling platform in whatever stage you are assigned. Only a handful stages have a walk-off rather than an omega platform, and you may not be so luck on your first match-up."

"You want to make sure that your recovery move is good enough in case you get knocked back over the edge to get back on," she continued. "Even with zero percent damage received, falling off the edge serves as a clean KO to your opponent regardless."

"What about those who have wings or can fly? I'd say that's hardly fair." Little Mac added.

"Tournament restrictions fix the flight ratio for all winged or aerial competitors - handicapping that within the shield bracelet, all flying competitors can't fly longer than a certain length of distance, which then allows all grounded fighters an equal chance of knocking them out of range of the platform. (5) Of course, this doesn't stop other competitors from whining about certain move sets still being too 'broken'."

"Huh. No kidding."

"Enough talk. Now it's your turn."

The bounty hunter pushed him forward as Mac yelped in surprise. "I promise I won't laugh. Even if you run yourself into the wall."

He shot her another glare and grumbled to himself.

"Alright. Here goes nothing!"

Little Mac attempted to imitate Samus' moves: charging forward and pumping his arms up to gain momentum. Feeling a good rhythm in his feet, Mac halted barely underneath the 7.5 foot ledge and jumped directly straight up for the edge, aiming his arm horizontally for a rising uppercut. However, to his misfortune, his glove did not come close to grazing beneath the lowest platform and his gravitational fall from grace happened in near slow-motion. At least, in his mind – the boxing champion barely recalled what happened right until he grinded his face onto the padded mats.

He didn't just barely miss the shortest platform. He missed by a good mile.

Even Samus had a hard time bringing herself to laugh at that.

"Oh boy. You're air game is going to be a little…rough."

A soft mumble was barely heard from Mac's limp body on the stiff foam floor.

"This is...going to be a real problem down the road, isn't it?"

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Bleurgh.

*finally collapses*

After... *looks at calendar* dealing with a death in the family, a week-long vacation to the east coast, a giant PAX-filled weekend, and receiving TWO colds in a row, I finally updated. I do feel relieved that I finally finished this chapter, yet at the moment, I feel the most disappointed in my writing in this chapter. I apologize greatly to all my followers, as I feel like I could've done this chapter MUCH better, but I don't know how. I keep feeling that this chapter is too slow-paced and I constantly feel unsatisfied. *sigh* This is what I get when I critically look at my own writing, grr.

I thought the library setting would be only a small part of this chapter, but I ended up expanding it more than expected. I did, however, prep my research when thinking of campus libraries in both Fils-Aime Battle School and Iwata Academy. Personally, I envisioned Fils-Aime to have a smaller, yet more modernized undergraduate library, whereas Iwata would be much larger with more elegant architecture and history behind the building. When doing research for writing up a library setting, I really enjoyed describing the reading room, as I took inspiration from the incredibly large library from one of my city's universities. I even went out to visit the campus and took many pictures – I only hope the college students around didn't look at me the weirdo with her camera out. *sweats*

Whenever I would visit one of my friends who attended this university, he would tell me that the library's reading room looked like something straight from Harry Potter, since it was so spacious and antique. From the looks of it, it seems that the university remodeled a former chapel into a library. Apparently when I went, there were quite a few Korean students using the library computers to play League of Legends instead of studying! And with Roy's FPS horror game brings back memories of college, when my friends put up _Amnesia_ on the big screen in the study rooms during school nights and we would huddle up and freak ourselves out until the librarians kicked us out!

Once life stops making me SICK all the time, I'm hoping to update much sooner and lessen the gaps of time in between updates. It's frustrating for both the author and readers to have to wait and not see the story move forward properly. I do have to say, **a big THANK YOU **to my dear friend, _sorutan_, for getting my creative juices flowing again and constantly motivating me to finish this chapter! She, out of the kindness of her heart, also helped me check for grammar and spelling in this chapter - SO IF YOU SPOT A MISTAKE, IT'S ON HER! Just kidding! Love you Soru! *hugs* I owe you one!

Now, see you on the next chapter, **Guānxi**, where we'll delve more into Marth's and Zelda's story, as well as what's happening with Robin!

**\- A. Mitsuni**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

_"__**Anubis9 lord of death**__: I love your story it is one of the best super smash bros story's I read. The characters feel real and just makes me want to read more. I was wondering about the Five Scared swords I mean you confirmed that the Falchion is one of them and the Master Sword is most likely one as well. Are the other three The sword of seals, Ragnell and finale and the one I most want is the Monado?"_

Oh! I sincerely thank you! I try my very best to keep everyone in-character, but at the same time, try not to make anyone boring or dull. I hope to continue improving on my writing and keep you wanting more! I always appreciate any kind of review or feedback from fellow readers, no matter what.

As for your question, 1) I did confirm Falchion so far, and you are not too far off about the Master Sword, and 2) Ah...! Due to potential story spoilers, I will say you got one right, one half-right, and one wrong. You'll figure out later which ones are which! So close! *wink, wink*

* * *

**Index: **

(1) Kellam is a playable character from _Fire Emblem: Awakening_ of the knight class. He, along with Vaike, Lon'qu, and many others, is part of Chrom's militia, the Shepherds. An ongoing gag in _Awakening_ is that the soft-spoken Kellam often fades into the background during the story and is constantly forgotten by the Avatar, main protagonists, and other various characters.

(2) Gumba Juice, while not an aforementioned smoothie business in the _Super Mario Bros._ franchise, is a play on words with "Jumba Juice," a popular smoothie chain.

(3) The Bulb Berry is a type of power-up fruit Yoshi can eat in _Super Mario Galaxy 2_. The berry appears as an inverted glowing light bulb with a yellow stem on it, making it similar to a pear or papaya. The Bulb Berry transforms Yoshi into "Bulb Yoshi" and gives the ability to light up hidden paths, similar to the bouncing matter in Matter Splatter Galaxy from the first installment, _Super Mario Galaxy_.

(4) Miriel is a playable character from _Fire Emblem: Awakening_ of the mage class and is part of the Shepherds. She is described as very logical, intelligent with a vast array of eloquent vocabulary, and is a perfectionist who cannot stand having even a single book out of place in the Shepherd's garrison. In this universe, she has a part-time job as librarian-assistant in the Miyamoto Library and is continually diligent in managing the upkeep of the prestigious institute.

(5) In the annual Super Smash Brothers tournament, each competitor is assigned a shield bracelet they wear during matches, which automatically surrounds the player with an thin, invisible shield that absorbs most of the damage. This technology allows fighters to use various melee weapons, such as swords and hammers without actually inflicting physical harm or injuries. The more damage the shield absorbs, the bigger knock-back the player faces. Players who rack up the most damage are the most vulnerable to KOs. The shield bracelet have several installed settings, one of which includes controlling damage handicaps during matches. Damage control is very convenient during practice and sparring matches and testing out move sets.

* * *

_(fade in) (play/pause)_ **SONG:** Earthbound Ending Theme "Smiles and Tears" **ARTIST:** Hirokazu Tanaka &amp; Keiichi Suzuki _(repeat) (stop) (fade out)_

* * *

Evening the following day.

Zelda shifted the weight of her bag once again after attempting to alleviate the heavy load of cardstock posters in her arms. She nearly stumbled over her feet trying to keep all the items in hand together, but managed to regain most of her balance. Growling to herself, she straightened up and hustled the pace, hurrying to get to the main office and out by the front doors. After all, she was still here late after the sun went down and all the school staff and professors were long gone, leaving the empty campus hall mostly dark and eerily quiet.

"Darn it...Roy _so_ owes me after this. I've stayed here way too late - it's his job to get these out to financial office anyways..."

She came to a slow stop when she spots a figure a few feet ahead, sitting on one of the old wood benches in the hallway. Zelda squinted her eyes to focus in on the stranger's face.

_'__Odd...I thought the doors were locked by now... Who on Earth would be here at this hour...?' _

The Hylian cautiously moved forward, unsure whether to keep going or head out the other way. Her curiosity bested her, as she inched closer to see who was still here. To her surprise, the late-night visitor on the bench was no more than her friend, Daisy.

"Daisy...?"

The Sarasasian tomboy briefly jumped back in surprise before being relieved of a familiar face.

"Hey Zelda," she sat up and smiled back. "What're ya doing here so late?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Zelda raised an eyebrow. "But to answer your question, I was here to drop off some leftover fundraiser posters Roy so kindly forgotten back at the SBG office. And you...?"

"Oh yeah..." Daisy grimaced and scratched the top of her head. "I was writing the last draft of my paper on one of the tables here, but then got real tired and decided to put my head down on this here bench for a few minutes. Next thing ya' know, I wake up and it's past 8 o'clock! Erm - you don't think I need to call security or something to get out of here, do I?"

Zelda chuckled and took a seat next to her friend for a small respite. "No, no - you can still exit out of here since the doors lock behind you."

"Whew! Welp, that's a big relief then," Daisy let out big exhale before looking up straight ahead again. Zelda looked on to see her observing the portrait before herself, hung proudly on the centre wall of the lobby behind a glass pane. The elegant painting stood a profound and thoughtful man in modern business wear, carrying a face weathered through the journeyed years, but not without gracing an innocent and almost charming spark of youth reflecting in both in his eyes and smile.

Underneath the portrait was a thick, black plaque, which read in gold, shimmering letters, _'In Honor of Sir Satoru Iwata; beloved leader, teacher, visionary, and friend who served as president of Nintendo-Land and her citizens from 20XX to 2X15. This world-renowned university was named '_Iwata Academy of Special Arts'_ by the Board of Regents on July 23__rd__, 2X17.'_

"I take it you're getting acquainted with Sir Iwata just now...?"

"Oh! So that's who this is?" Daisy lowered her head in embarrassment before babbling on. "I'm sorry – I mean, I saw the name, but I'm not completely familiar with the history of Iwata Academy, or Nintendo-Land for that matter, I've been mostly taught about how the Mushroom Kingdom came to be when I was younger – "

"Don't worry about it," Zelda assured her with a wave of her hand. "I didn't know much about Nintendo-Land city either until I began attending here as well."

The blonde cleared her throat, then continued. "From the books I've read, Sir Satoru Iwata was a great man who lent his hand in creating, innovating, and shaping the city to become how it is now. While there technically is no true ruler over Nintendo-Land and her citizens, the city council chooses a mayoral position, or a president if you will, who oversees much of the laws and decrees passed here in the city national court, maintaining its neutral foreign policy and advocating good will, peace, and harmony among the united nations of Earthania."

"The interesting thing about Iwata was his truly gifted leadership at such a young age, his remarkable intellect in his field, his relentless work ethic, and most importantly, his humility and passion he had for this city. For everyone, honestly. During his time in office, he managed to revamp and modernize Nintendo-Land, reign in the biggest economic boom the city's ever seen, and establish her as the largest international hub on Earthania."

Zelda brought in a small smile, almost looking reminiscent of a long-forgotten acquaintance. "The crazy thing is, everyone in this whole city loved Iwata. Even from the most divided politicians here today at the city council, every Nintendo-Land citizen – young and old - who's lived or been a part of his legacy will tell you how incredible this guy was. Not just as leader or colleague, but even as a friend. He stood humble and kind through the high-tide years and stayed perceptive and understanding through the bad strides, staying true to his enduring faith in the city and in us."

"Amazing..."

"I never met him in real life, but my grandparents knew him when they were our age. Nintendo-Land was on nearly on its way to having themselves a king considering how long he held onto his position in office, but..." Zelda's voice drifted softly.

"He grew ill one year, and passed away unexpectedly. It was such a shock to everyone, nearly all the businesses in the city came to a halt that day out of sheer grief. Many political leaders from all over the world flew in just to give their condolences to Iwata and his family. Even the most strong rival factions were able to put away their differences to pay their respects."

"Really?!" Daisy faced her friend with raised eyebrows. "I've heard of a day of mourning solely for kings and queens, but never elected politicians..."

"I believe back when this academy was on its way of being constructed and funded by the city, there was a unanimous vote by the head council to name the academy after Iwata in honor of his work and dedication. In no way had I personally met the man, yet it never ceases to amaze me how we are still surrounded by the tremendous influence this man has built up here to this day."

Zelda ended her long explanation with a tired, but content sigh.

"It's weird..." Daisy spoke up after thinking of what words to say. "It's like...I never met the guy or really knew him, but looking at him now...it feels like I'm seeing a good friend. When I see this, part of me feels like I'm home."

"...in a way, I feel that same way, too."

Somewhere off in the distance, a psychokinetic young boy, two capped plumbers, a pink puffball, and a crimson-vested Pokémon trainer humbly took off their hats as they looked up to the heavens above.

* * *

**Rest in Peace, Satoru Iwata**

(1959 – 2015)

_'__On my business card I am a corporate president. In my mind I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer.'_


	10. Chapter Ten: Guānxi

**Chapter 10: **Guānxi:

* * *

**Guānxi: **(Chinese) (n.) _personal relationship or connection based on mutual trust, loyalty, and commitment by exchanging and returning favors so that all share the same benefit._

* * *

It has been a whole week since the fanfare from the Archanean banquet had finally settled down.

And while the rest of his friends and family have already settled back into the normalcy of their daily lives, a certain blue-haired boy was still brooding, particularly over the King's unexpected praise and confidence in his abilities.

And for good reason: his father always had a stern eye over his shoulder for most of his life, often criticizing decisions he disagreed on and urged him to put more than one-hundred percent into every little event in his life. While he remained strict on both his children, King Cornelius had put more effort on testing Marth's capability as leader – giving him the impression of his father's distrust at a young age.

Yet, out of nowhere, his father revealed to have held onto some shred of dignity and respect for his own son, to the point of nearly choking up during his speech. Logically, Marth should have been relieved, if not ecstatic – but the sudden change of heart had put him on edge the last few days.

And now, sitting at his desk in his personal office and away from the hustle and bustle of the world was his only source of comfort, with whom sat next to him.

"You're worried, aren't you?" Elice gently asked as she took a seat beside him. "It's about father, isn't it…?

A short-breathed moan with hands over eyes.

"Things would be much easier if you were…"

Marth's voice drifted off, hesitating whether to bring up the subject or not.

'_…__were chosen and not me...'_

His older sister simply kept his hand in her grasp and gave him a reassuring squeeze.

"No – I understand. You can say it. I've long accepted my place in the house of Lowell, so you may speak freely of me."

The prince sighed and nodded, knowing that the unspoken topic at hand was no longer a touchy subject. Still, it felt rude that the thought came to mind and often felt the idea of mentioning her sister's exclusion from the royal bloodline was taboo.

It was no news to the citizens of United Archanea that Lady Elice, the eldest child of Queen Liza, was born from a previous marriage prior to her courtship and eventual marriage to the King Cornelius. (1) At a very young age, Elice was warmly welcomed into the ruling house once her mother was coroneted as royal consort, and lived most of her life knowing that someday, her younger sibling would soon become ruler over her.

Sweet and humble just like her mother Liza, Elice never truly envied Marth's position in power. On the contrary, she thought opposite after observing first-hand the intense training and pressure he needed to go through over the years.

Still, in her mind, Elice saw her innocent little brother behind his proud and powerful reputation; the Marth who insisted on putting others first and often questioned his ability to be a leader. Even as soon-to-be king of United Archanea, the image of her sibling would always be the one who would accidentally put his pajamas on backwards before bed, or would get hilariously flustered or exasperated whenever he was victim to Roy's pranks. And now that she was older and wiser, she understood that no amount of change in kingly status would ever break the precious bond she had with her own brother.

Always.

"You know that we had faith in your abilities no matter what," Elice rested her hands on top of the paperwork she set down. "And despite our father's harsh upbringing, even he always knew you had it in you to succeed. I believe it just now finally dawned on him how much you've grown and shined in Iwata – and for that, you should fret no more."

Marth nodded again, taking in his sister's wise words. Looking out the window, the sun settled beneath the brewing grey clouds, leaving blotches of fiery color intermingled with dark skies. On the corner of his window, he curiously spotted a tall, pony-tailed blonde on the cement path with books in her hands, who then appeared to deliver the small bundle to someone out of view.

"In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he requested for me to stop checking up on you, just to see how well you do here by yourself."

"…hmm?" Marth's attention was back to Elice. "Hold on, you're not leaving Iwata, are you?"

She raised her eyebrows for a brief moment before heartily laughed back in response. "Of course not! I'll still stop by! I just don't think I need to make sure you are doing alright every week. I'm confident that you can handle yourself on your own."

"…_Marth…!_"

Both siblings turned their attention to the open doorway leading to the main office, where Roy's loud voice was calling out from.

"…can you help me please…?"

Marth glared back at the open doorway, but not without biting back a smile. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"Well, _yes._ But I can't leave until I've finished painting the spirit week banners and _you know_ Zelda will fry my ass if I don't finish them tonight…!"

Elice giggled before standing up from his desk. "I'll help the poor boy – I have nowhere to be as I finished the rest of my duties for the day."

As he watched his older sibling and his best friend converse outside of his office, Marth turned again to look out the window once more. The sun now peeked through the cracks in the sky, but the mysterious pony-tailed teen was gone.

* * *

"The Fils-Aime Official Chess Club…?"

A pig-tailed Plegian stood in front the big bulletin board out in the hallway, facing toward a rather large and colorful advertisement for said extracurricular. Now that her classes were done for the day, her eyes ended wandered to the given poster when on her way to exit the building.

One of the school counselors did advise Robin to join one of the many sports, clubs, and after-school activities available throughout the campus. While it was not mandatory for battle school students to attend athletic clubs and groups outside of class, it was highly recommended by the school staff as a way to meet new people, promote school pride, and strengthen friendships among the already diverse student body. And with that on Robin's mind, it was only a matter of time until she began looking for possible activities to partake in.

"I take you're here for the chess meet-up?"

"…!"

A voice beside her got her attention as she turned toward the source, a fox-like figure stood at the open doorway next to her.

"Erm…I'm just looking at it –"

"You're in luck my friend," the fox smiled and gestured a wave to follow him. "We're just starting our first meeting now, so if you have nothing else to do today, you're more than welcome to join us."

He held back a chuckle when the tactician stood frozen still, not sure how to respond. "Don't worry, we don't bite or ask you to come to church – just come on in. If you decide it's not your thing, no hard feelings. Promise."

Robin followed him into the small classroom where various members were already setting up tables and chairs, along with opening several boxes that contained chess boards and pieces, one large, purple Pokémon setting up the chess boards with telekinesis.

"I never got a name from you, by the way," He turned around and extended his hand. "Your name is…?"

"Robin," she introduced herself. "And you are…?"

"The name's Fox McCloud. I'm the captain –"

"Excuse you – co-captain…" a blue-feathered friend sarcastically quipped from behind.

"Sorry, '_co-captain_'," Fox gestured air quotes with his fingers and a deadpan expression. "Of the Fils-Aime Chess Club. And this fine fellow here is Falco Lombardi – the other 'co-captain.'"

"Robin, huh? Nice to see that we got some new blood here," Falco shook Robin's hand with a smug grin. "You better not plan on dragging the team down, ya' hear?"

"Our numbers aren't as big as they were last year," Fox blew out a weary sigh. "Most of us here are returning members, but a good chunk of our club graduated last year. We've got to kick it to high gear to be on-par for nationals this year, let alone against Iwata Academy."

"Pfft – way to spoil the mood, sour-puss," the indigo-hued falcon stuck out his tongue once he set down a wooden chess set on a nearby table. He then turns over to the club's newcomer.

"Say Robin – how 'bout a round with me? I wanna see if ya' got what it takes to join the team."

"I…I don't know, I was thinking of just watching for today –"

"C'mon, don't be such a scaredy-cat," Falco insisted, even going as far to offer a chair. "It's just a game."

"Falco's got a point," Fox added. "It's only the first meet-up, so practice is pretty casual. Some of us are a bit rusty after the summer break, after all. We won't even break out the chess clocks today."

"I…" Robin's eyes suddenly went downcast, now apprehensive about herself and her barely recovered memories. "I have to admit…I haven't played in a very long time…I'm not sure if I even remember most of the rules…"

"Wait a second, _you_ don't know how to play chess…?" Falco sat mouth agape before laughing out loud. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Don't pay him any mind," Fox reassured her after sending Falco a disapproving look. Even some of the members looked over at the noise level Falco was making.

"Our club helps those who are still learning and it's was more about having fun while learning a few new strategies. Competitions are great and all, but we want to make sure everyone has fun and feels at home here."

"Are you sure…?" she grimaced at Falco's snickering.

"Even that big ol' lunk of a _Donkey Kong_ knows how to play chess, haha…!"

"Look," Fox pulled out a chair beside Robin after sending another fierce glare towards his wingman. "I'll back you up and tell you how to play along the way. Just tell me what you remember and I'll fill in the rest. Chess isn't _always_ about winning, you know…"

"Whatever man – speak for yourself."

The three sat on a flat surface with a standard black and white chess board lying in front of them, Robin and Fox facing Falco with the white pieces sitting closest on her side.

"The goal of the game is the capture or 'check' your opponent's king," Fox pointed to both King pieces on the board. "When you do this, you must make sure your king is protected from capture as well. If your opponent's King cannot move to any space without being captured, then it's a 'checkmate.' The second goal of the game is to capture other pieces from your opponent – logically speaking, less pieces on the board leaves their king defenseless."

"I at least remember these," Robin pointed at the row of white pawns. "They move forward one space, right?"

"Ah, yes, the pawn. Pawns can move one space, but only forwards and backwards. The special exception for pawns is that they can move up to two spaces only on their first movement and depending on how you play, pawns can serve as great shields for your King or other pieces. As for the other pieces, each side has two rooks, two bishops, two knights, eight pawns, and one king and queen."

Fox proceeded to explain in further detail each and every piece's function and move set before ending on the king and queen. "Now, your king and queen will be vital to you, of course. Your queen is the most powerful piece, as she can move in any straight direction – forwards, backwards, to the side, and diagonally – and as far as possible as long as there isn't anything in her path. The King, on the other hand, is the most important, but is fairly weak. He can only move one space at any direction, but it's best to keep him protected."

"Since you're white," Falco crossed his arms and yawned. "You go first."

Robin, with the slightest air of hesitation, moved one of her center pawns two spaces forward. "...like this?"

Fox nodded, and the game carried on. Robin's challenger countered her move with his own pawn, moving it straight towards hers.

"And do I...?" Robin pointed at both head-to-head pawns, motioning a potential capture.

"Oh...about that," Fox scratched the back of his ears with a sheepish frown. "Sorry, I forgot to mention – pawns can only capture diagonally rather than forwards, backwards, or to the side. The same applies to bishops, as they only move diagonally anyways."

Another unbridled scoff was the last thing to finally break the camel's back. Robin sat up straight and in a low, nearly quiet voice, she asked,

"Fox. Are there any special rules that you've left out so far?"

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm...I think I just forgot to mention the pawn promotion – if any one of your pawns reach all the way to your opponent's side, they can get promoted to any higher rank. Most pawns obviously are upgraded to be a Queen. But aside from that, I think you're covered. Don't worry, I'll still help you –"

"As much as I appreciate it," Robin sharply lifted her eyes from the board and faced Falco headstrong. "I no longer need any further assistance."

Quick like a snap of the fingers, the mood of the small table suddenly shifted as if a wave a heavy air surrounded Robin's being. It wasn't long before Fox to notice the drastic change of demeanor within the new student.

"Erm...I suppose if you say so." He sat back in his chair, feeling somewhat uneasy.

He never labeled himself as someone who was always perceptive, but Fox caught on to what was going on and slowly observed the inner gears of Robin's mind begin to turn at a rapid speed. Taking a few seconds to scan the chess board one last time, Robin moved one of her pawns forward and motioned the next move to Falco.

"Your turn."

The overly-confident falcon raised an eyebrow to the change his opponent's composure, but shrugged it off. Perhaps it was only a false sense of security or determination in an attempt to intimidate him, but he couldn't be fooled. After all, how difficult could a chess challenge be against a first-time player?

Soon, after fourteen consecutive moves, Robin moved her rook forward and tilted her head to assess her move.

"I believe this is a...check? Checkmate?"

"...what."

Caught completely off-guard, Falco stood up fast and got up close to the chess board to review the last move of her piece. His eyes darted to Robin, then the board, then Robin again.

"No way...! H-how did you even –" he nearly knocked over his chair to grab at Robin's long sleeves. "Did you pull an extra piece out of there or something?! Fox...!"

"Falco, don't be stupid," Fox tugged his friend away before he tried to rip the poor woman's uniform jacket off. "I was watching the entire time, so don't go making ridiculous –"

He glanced at the board, and after a moment, a sly grin broke out on his face as he let out an audible, "huh."

"Well I'll be damned. That's a checkmate if I've ever seen one!"

"Wha – how...I don't even –" her losing opponent slumped back in his seat, visibly stunned.

"Come now, Falco," the strategist reiterated his own words with an innocent, but satisfied, smirk. "_It's just a game,_ remember?"

"Ya' know what..!? Fine." Falco rolled up the sleeves of his jacket and cracked his feathered knuckles. "I was gonna go easy on you, but now I'm just gettin' started…"

Following the next three back-to-back losses, it only took Mewtwo and Meta Knight to hold Falco back from flipping the table out of anger.

* * *

The atmosphere in the Headmaster's office was always this damp and cold, particularly during the chilly autumn months.

Zelda's frown only deepened as she was politely escorted into the headmaster's office by his more sympathetic assistant, Elice. As this was her least favorite place to be, she resented being forced to wait this all went well, however, she could get this ordeal over with rather than be forced to flatter his presence more than she could to bear.

She tightly crossed her arms and tapped her finger against the loose sleeve of her uniform blouse, a childhood habit she picked up whenever she was in an impatient or troubled mood.

_'Remember. It's only a small meeting, just like last semester. Over the student government budget. Again, not a big deal,' _she thought.

The sudden creak of the door opening behind her got her attention, but Impa's training allowed her to stay externally composed despite her worried thoughts. (2)

"My, my...well if it isn't Zelda herself. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, _your highness_?"

Even the mere sound of his deep, but mild-mannered voice sent unpleasant shivers down her spine. Nevertheless, she straightened up in her seat and remarked with only the slightest edge hinted in her voice.

"Good afternoon, Sir Ganondorf. I am here to discuss the student government's budget for this semester."

Zelda kept her eyes away as Ganondorf made his way to the side of his office and towards the electric kettle, tea bags, and paper cups. His office was relatively low-lit, as heavy mauve curtains lining the large window behind the headmaster's antique desk. The only illumination was the weak light stemming from a small lamp on the decorative end table. To Zelda's surprise, Ganondorf had decorated his large office in a minimalistic manner, aside from the thickly woven rugs symbolizing his lineage and a few small portraits conveying the Gerudo tribal symbol and the Desert Goddess. (3)

"Would you like any tea?" His gruff voice offered, sending his best smile her way. "I believe we still have some Hylian Berry Medley if you prefer." (4)

"No."

She paused before curtly adding, "No thank you. I'd like to get to business if it's all the same to you."

Zelda felt the Gerudo king simply shrug as he poured himself a cup of hot tea and settled in his large office chair. Zelda wasted no time and pulled the thick packet of papers from her lap, neatly tucked away behind a paper clip.

"These are awaiting your approval. I'll need your signatures on the first and last pages. If there are any changes needed, please let me know."

"And Miss Elice already looked this over as well?"

Zelda nodded back in response. Fortunately for her, Ganondorf made no argument or small talk when looking over the paperwork. After a minute or two of silent reading, Ganondorf gave a disinterested nod and reached for a pen to sign. Shortly after giving his approval to the overall budget plan and placing his signatures, Zelda almost leapt from her chair to take the packet back into her hands.

"Leaving so soon?" The gray-skinned headmaster leaned back in his chair with an amused look on his face. Zelda turned back with a quick retort, but was taken aback by the way he was looking at her. His smile was harmless enough, but shadows looming on his face and the glint in his eyes gave way to something that was off, as if he was hiding some sort of menacing intent.

"Apologies, Sir Ganondorf," she shortly replied while keeping the tone of her voice leveled. Perhaps she was only imagining the look on his face, just like her parents always insisted. "I must leave quickly as I have other errands to attend to today."

With that, she briskly brushed off her skirt and turned to the door. Had her hand reached the knob, she would've left his office and been out of the building without another word.

And yet, Ganondorf managed to halt her in her tracks once again.

"Zelda, if I may..."

The princess refused to look back and face the very person she felt so opposed to in her very core. She grew to despise everything that was Ganondorf and everything that reminded her of the man, and yet the part of her that cared about what her own family and friends think of her was the only thing that kept the stilted peace between them.

"I visited Castle Town just last week..." (5)

While she desperately wanted to get away from this man, that simple sentence managed to take hold of her. Her hand left the door knob.

"And during our meetings to renew alliances and trade pacts, I had the chance to speak with your parents..."

Zelda felt her hands suddenly clench into fists.

"You know..." the office chair squeaked as Ganondorf rose from it. "If you are willing, I believe it may be for the best to attempt some sort of agreement with your parents. Not just for you, but for the sake of the kingdom as well..."

Ganondorf walked forward and leaned on the front of his desk.

"It may be that a simple reconciliation could keep your troubles in check. That _is _why it seems you haven't been sleeping well, _isn't it_?"

The very last comment finally struck through the walls Zelda had put up. Her shoulders tensed and her body felt tightly wound like a spring. Of course _he_ would know of the haunting visions that plagued her twilight: the ever-present weariness clouding her thoughts as of late, the wrinkles on her uniform left un-ironed, even the tired bags underneath her eyes for goddess' sake. But her daring heart refused to bend down in weakness – not yet.

"Since you seem so _deeply concerned_ about my well being," she growled with gritted teeth. "My classes are well, my family life is fine, and retreat plans for the school have been finalized. Good day."

And with that, his front door was swiftly opened and roughly slammed shut.

* * *

"Robin, you played excellently today!"

"Looks like Fils-Aime might have a national champion on our hands!"

"Your quick-thinking approach is quite remarkable."

"Really?" With all the attention surrounding her and chess members applauding her on her successful victories, Robin felt her face warm up by all the attention and kind praise sent her way.

"Honestly, you all flatter me – but thank you..."

"C'mon guys, let her be," Fox chuckled before breaking apart the group surrounding the undefeated player. "For now, let's start putting away everything before we get locked out of the storage closet again."

When most of the members separated to begin breaking chess sets and putting away the tables and chairs, he finally made his way to Robin and proudly clapped her shoulder.

"Kid, I'll let you know that that was probably the most mind-blowing comebacks I've ever seen. I never thought it possible to understand basic chess strategy and vastly improve in such short amount of time..."

He turned to face Robin. "You _have _to tell me your secret – that is, if you haven't sold your soul to the devil yet."

Robin nearly snorted out loud. "Not at all. I suppose I only listened to your advice and logically thought out the steps within that time," she rubbed her chin. "It's as if...after knowing the rules of the game, all the possible steps to victory just came to me. And to tell you the truth...that's the best I can explain it."

"And you're _not_ some world-renowned chess player only to hustle our co-captain here now, would ya?" the pensive tone returned in Fox's voice as he quirked an eyebrow in response.

"No, no, of course not!" she was pleased with the compliments she received from other members, but she abhorred the thought of stooping as low to deceit in order to defeat and humiliate an opponent. "My hands...they just moved naturally, as if my brain was already registering ten steps ahead."

"I know it sounds strange," she continued. "But I assure you, I have no expert knowledge or skill set in chess prior to our meeting. I give you my word."

Under Fox's serious gaze, it appeared that Robin was telling the truth. He still looked on unconvinced, nonetheless let the subject matter go. If he was going to get a real answer out of Robin, it wasn't going to be right at this moment. It may be that whatever is going on in Robin's head is something more complex and beyond his own comprehension.

Fox then took a look behind her and, to his amusement, saw Falco gruffly take the packed-up chess sets and shove them back into the plastic bins set on the ground .Clearly, most of the members sought out to avoid him in his sour mood after the crushing defeats that happened earlier in the meeting.

"Oi! Falco!" Fox couldn't help but give a lighthearted tease to his good friend. "I don't think you were given the chance to congratulate Robin after your matches today..."

Robin insisted to keep from ruffling any more feathers, literally. "Fox, please, I don't really think it's necessary –"

"We get it, Einstein. You're the best – number one – _all hail Queen Robin the Great_."

Falco glowered in embarrassed anger, gripping one of the chess boxes hard enough to cause creases. Fox rolled his eyes, all while repressing the urge to laugh at his companion's misery.

"Ignore him, he's just salty that he got super cocky and lost to someone's first chess match."

The fox leaned over next to Robin, keeping his voice hushed.

"Between you and me, I know that Falco comes off as arrogant and brash," he spoke quietly. "But deep down, he holds the game and to those who offer a challenge or motivate him to get better in high regard. Once he's eventually cooled down, he'll come around. You probably can't tell, but he'll probably going to be reading up chess strategies all night because of you. There is a reason why the last club captain assigned both of us as co-captains instead of picking just one, after all."

"You don't say…?"

Fox gave one last thoughtful look. "The more I think about it, I'm so relieved I nabbed you when I did. I hope it's not too forward to ask, but would you come back here next week, same time? We could definitely use someone of your talent here."

Robin thought for a moment. Chess was an intellectually challenging game, which often tested her gifted abilities. And the idea of learning more about the game did intrigue her, if not thrill.

With a nod and a smile, she accepted the extended hand of friendship.

"I would love to."

* * *

Midnight.

In the quiet stillness of the night, her eyes blinked open once again. Aside from the faint glow of the streetlight outside her window, Zelda let her eyes adjust to the darkness before glancing over to her alarm clock atop her end table.

_12:42 AM._

Not even past 2 AM and she found herself restless and without slumber for the umpteenth time this week. She was thankful enough that she has yet to endure terrifying nightmares like she has been the last few nights. Despite that, she knew the fatigued, sleep-deprived body she would suffer the next morning would not be as gracious.

The Hylian heir sat up from her bed and tossed her plush duvet and thick quilted blankets aside. For now, she felt no use for simply lying in bed if it was clear that she wouldn't be getting any shuteye for the time being. Especially with stubborn thoughts of an earlier confrontation still fresh in her mind. She frowned abruptly once feeling a part of her soul resonate with _something_ within her proximity.

Zelda became quickly aware of the thin walls surrounding her bedroom and perched herself on the edge of the bed to face her door. Even though she knew her loyal guardian had long retired to bed hours ago, the paranoid part of Zelda had insisted her make sure there was no chance of Impa walking into her room unannounced. A quick check into Impa's bedroom to see her bodyguard fast asleep was enough for Zelda to tiptoe back into her room once more. Carefully and without making so much as a sound, she knelt beside the right side of her raised bed and gently pulled away various shoe boxes, small plastic crates, and storage bins from underneath her mattress. With a small stack of her things piled up next to her, Zelda finally reached in deep until her hands caught the handle of a travel case and pulled out what appeared to be a large, metallic suitcase. The case was rather long yet thin, with the faded blue Wingcrest symbol printed on the front and a 4-digit combination lock next to the handles. (6)

_'1...1...2...1...' _

After adjusting the code, an audible click was heard from inside the case. The simple sound flooded her being with regret and shame for what she had done.

When she pressed her thumb to open the unlocked case, it took all her own sheer willpower to keep from reeling in guilt. A stinging ache filled her heart as she knew full well that her dear parents were at home, peacefully asleep in the castle, while their own 'honorable' daughter was responsible for taking their most priceless relic in all of sovereign Hyrule and leaving a meager replica in its place. Even Impa, her royal guard who Zelda trusted her whole life to, was ignorant of her actions. If Zelda was born a commoner, she would face severe punishments for committing such treason and thievery.

_'Forgive me, father...mother...' _

Zelda finally opened the case wide. Tucked inside the soft velvet foam was the mythical Blade of Evil's Bane, the one in which throughout Hyrule's antiquity had both defeated the evil incarnations of Ganon and saved the Hylian Kingdom from utter destruction. The sword of old was blessed by her holy grace, Hylia, and formed by the Goddess' own chosen hero. Every incarnation of the Hero of Time, who after proving his courage and strength through many trials and tribulations, was bestowed the ability to wield the Goddess' sword whenever evil threatened the peace over Hyrule.

_ '__But I must prove to my family, and to myself, that _I _am worthy of this task…'_

This historical sword had both vanquished Ganon's villainous pursuits of ultimate power and prevailed against all darkness alongside the five fabled swords. The sacred blade, now resting upon the princess' lap, was universally known by one name.

The Master Sword.

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

UPDATE TIME!

No excuses, this chapter, for whatever reason, was a bit harder to write down compared to previous chapters. Fortunately, I had my SO look over a few things and keep my bad habit of run-on sentences in check, haha! Also, I'll give kudos to those understand the meaning behind Zelda's lock combination key, wink wink!

Aside from IRL issues, I'm trying my best to keep up the once-a-month update. I always aim to update twice, but right now, I can only afford this. *sigh* Hopefully, my workload will lighten up in the future so I can write more.

In other news, I've been anxiously waiting on Nintendo to announce some sort of news for Smash Bros. DLC, now that the character ballet has wrapped up. I understand with the whole transition period Nintendo is going through that there wouldn't be a Nintendo Direct for a while, but _man_, I'm dying for any kind of news from Nintendo. The idea of new characters in Smash not only excites me as a gamer, but as a writer as well! It's always interesting to see how every new character will fit inside the world I built for the story! Hopefully before the year ends, we'll hear something awesome from Sakurai!

As for extra info tidbits, (in case any of my readers are at all curious) I wanted to include some more information about school uniforms! A few chapters ago, I briefly touched on what the Fils-Aime Battle School uniforms looked like. As for Iwata Academy school uniforms, students dress more formal than most other battle schools in the city.

For boys, they are given a black blazer with the embroidered school crest, a long-sleeved collared white shirt, yellow wool sweater vest, a yellow/red plaid tie, brown dress trousers, black socks and dark brown slip on shoes. And for girls, they are given a generally consists of a black blazer with the embroidered school crest, yellow bow, a collared white shirt with long sleeves, a yellow wool sweater vest, a pleated yellow/red plaid skirt, black knee high socks, and black Mary Jane flats. Their uniform has minor changes, depending on the time of the year, to match the weather. I'll briefly talk about this in the next chapter!

Stick around for the next chapter, **Koi no Yokai**. With our heroes now settling in for the year, could it be that love is in the air...?

**\- A. Mitsuni**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

_"__**Lunar: **__I actually believe that Roy's mother is most likely Ninian because the game seems to surport that, at the last chapter of Fire emblem the blazing sword I believe even if Ninian dies as long as she has A surport with Eliword she fricking comes back from the dead perfectly fine! Plus having Ninian as Roy's mother or even real mother if you decide to make Lyndis a step mother would make Roy part ice dragon! Cool right? _

_Since Ninian is half ice dragon it would make Roy a quarter ice dragon!Just think of what you could do to unveil something like that! But if you decide to keep Roy's mother as Lyndis I'll be fine, just a little sad but I still love the story so far.(btw Roy has no official mother but the most cannon one which means surported one is Ninian)"_

Lunar, thank you so much for taking the time to review! Oh my gosh - I gotta confess something: When I first got into the Smash fandom (which was back around Melee/Brawl time - mid-2000s), I read one fanfic which had Lyndis and Eliwood as Roy's parents. Now, young Mitsuni did not know much about Fire Emblem back then and simply thought 'Oh, that's just his parents. Okay, whatever.'

**I DIDN'T KNOW THAT A MARRIAGE AND SUPPORT SYSTEM IN THE GAME. **

So for YEARS upon YEARS, I just thought Lyndis was Roy's natural mother, _period_. Even after learning about Fire Emblem: Awakening, I thought the support conversation and marriage mechanic was a recent thing. It wasn't until a while ago that depending how you play Fire Emblem, Roy's mother could be a number of different women aside from Lyn. _WHOOPS. _

Now, to me - when I was first writing this story, I just had Lyn as his mother simply because that's what I was used it for a long time. Later on, after doing more research on FE6 and FE7, I understand why Ninian has been a more popular choice, especially among the fandom, but by then, I've already written Lyn in as the mother. But to be honest, Roy's parents don't play a huge role in the story, honestly one, _maybe two_ scenes in Contingency overall. I apologize deeply and I hope this detail doesn't bother you too much! *sweats deeply* I understand that feeling of when a good story has a pairing you don't really ship.

I love the suggestions you given me and I appreciate the feedback! Next time I write Roy, I'll keep that in mind. :-)

* * *

**Index: **

(1) Specifically in this universe (not based on canon lore), Elice is the older half-sibling of Marth – which justifies her inability to inherit the United Archaenean throne and wield the Falchion blade, according to old Archanean law. Liza was married to a nobleman and had Elice; when Elice was two years old, her birth father passed away from a chronic illness and after a few of mourning, Cornelius courted Elice and was betrothed to her later on.

(2) Impa is the surname of several female members of the Sheikah, a mysterious tribe that has served and protected the Royal Family of Hyrule for many generations, specifically being associated with taking care of every Zelda incarnation in the _Legend of Zelda_ franchise. Her role in the games is usually providing guidance and information to Link during his adventures. The Impa in this universe is most based from the Impa featured in _Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time._

(3) The Gerudo are a desert tribe featured in many _Legend of Zelda_ games. The Gerudo mostly consists of female warriors in which every one hundred years, a male will be born and have the birthright to become their King, according to Gerudo law. Like many other races under Hylian rule, the Gerudo have their own tribal symbol and the deity they worship is known as the Desert Goddess, or Goddess of the Sand.

(4) In Earthania, Hylian Berry Medley is a type of tea consisting of local berries native to the Hylian fields and various parts of the kingdom. It's most popular among upper-class Hylians.

(5) Hyrule Castle Town, also known as Hyrule Castle Town Market serves as the capitol for the Hyrule Kingdom in various _Legend of Zelda_ games. It's located very close to the Hyrule castle. In this story, Castle Town is most based off of the capital city in _Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. _

(6) The Wingcrest symbol is the official crest of the Royal Family of Hyrule in the _Legend of Zelda _series, serving as a symbol for the ruling house over all of the Hyrule kingdom. This crest goes as far as serving the origins of Hylians who descended from Skyloft. The Goddess Hylia also used this crest during ancient times.

**EDIT: **Wording. Spacing. Wording and Spacing - issues with Microsoft Word. Verbal tense fix. Wording.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Koi no Yokai

**Chapter 11: **Koi no Yokai

* * *

**Koi no Yokai: **(Japanese) (n.) _lit._ "premonition of love"; _the sense that one can have upon first meeting another person that the two of them are going to fall in love._

* * *

Mid-morning, free training period. (1)

It took him no longer than 10 seconds to reach a good rhythm. With every fist that struck the sandbag, the momentum of Little Mac's feet matched perfectly with ease.

The Sterling Fitness Center, often regarded as the campus' main gym, was thriving with activity during this chilly autumn morning. Several battle school students spending their training period throughout the different areas of the center, whether it would be from the cardio-theatre or hitting the sports facilities and group workout classes. The main workout area at the bottom level spread far and wide; the spacious wood floor was dedicated to weight lifting and all-purpose training, exercise machines, and various racks of dumbbells and barbells against the mirrored walls.

In the corner of the east side of the floor, Little Mac stayed strict to his daily routine - each strike hit hard and fast as Sandbag's face continued to bear every blow. He already managed to drown out the loud classic rock blaring on the gym's speakers and the conversations around him. But as satisfying as it was to beat down on the punching bag, he knew pounding away at inanimate objects wasn't going to solve his dilemma. He frowned, a blush spreading on his cheeks as he recalled his humiliating venture into recovery practice alongside Samus. Jab after jab, Mac's brow pinched together as bitter taste of defeat and musty gym mats came into memory. It was humiliating enough that his fall caused his face to bruise for a few days, let alone having the one friend he tried to impress witness the whole event unravel.

However, he thought to himself, things were going to change.

_'__How hard can it be? Someone like me's got plenty of time. Like Doc says – every journey's gotta start somewhere. Just like the old days.'_

He did have a few months to figure out a solid plan for his recovery move set, as pressing Samus made it sound. The Free-for-All tournament wasn't until next summer, so he had the whole school year to iron out the issue. And with some extra hard work and perseverance, he'll shake off this hurdle, no problem.

Either way, nearly everyone at the school had their recovery move down. It couldn't be _that _difficult to master... could it?

Mac was completely sidetracked about training, so much so that he didn't realize his own strength. He lunged forward for a deep uppercut, suddenly jostling the weak metal chains hooked onto the Sandbag. Another exploding punch hit dead center of his target, finally snapping the rusted chain links in two and abruptly launching the white Sandbag forward.

_'__Shit…!'_

The words "heads up!" barely had time to leave his mouth once the punching bag flung towards the opposite end of the gym.

Out on the west wing of the training area, a young freshmen in a blue athletic tank top and black yoga pants was concluding the last of her warm-up stretches. Trainer stood atop her emerald printed yoga mat with bare feet and her back faced toward everyone else; nearby, her backpack and other belongings were neatly set aside. She took another deep breath before bringing her palms together to her center to steady the flow of her breathing and loosen up her muscles. From first glance, many assumed she was adrift in her own meditative world.

To their disbelief, Trainer quickly extended her arm to block the blow of the flying punching bag sent her way without a second thought.

Aside from a cursing Falco, who almost got nailed by the Sandbag after Trainer's deflection, several eyebrows were raised – including Little Mac's. Soon after the blue-feathered bird stomped off, Trainer calmly walked over to examine the Sandbag. She was curious at how such a large and dense object managed to be travel across the entire floor, let alone be airborne for that long. However, her confusion was met with a hastily made apology from behind.

"I am…_so_ _sorry_ that I, uh –" Mac coughed and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck with a gloved hand. "– almost knocked you out with a damn punching bag. I mean, ya' obviously took care of that – which was _awesome_ by the way – but yeah…totally my bad."

The boxer muttered _'dammit Doc, goddamn weak chains'_ under gritted teeth, but the taller of the two didn't seem to notice. He expected the woman to argue or at least angrily scold him for his carelessness, but was only met with startled gray orbs.

"O-oh…" she was shocked to see the boy of short stature to carry enough power to achieve such a feat. Her eyes lingered on his thick biceps and the thin layer of sweat that glossed his skin for only a moment, until she timidly turned away.

"It's alright," she reassured in a calm voice. "No damage done – my family runs a business of fitness centers, so this isn't the craziest thing I've seen happen in a gym to be honest."

"Well now you're makin' me curious."

"That's a story for another day," She tucked back a stray hair away from her eyes, a hue of pink on her cheeks and a cautious smile on her lips. "But I must say, that's quite a punch you got there."

"Heh, thanks," a sheepish smile and an outreached hand. "Call me Little Mac, or just Mac. You?"

"Trainer – and yes, before you say anything, I know it's weird."

"You blocked Sandbag like a champ," Mac commented as he now felt more at ease after getting to know the stranger's name. "Unless you're some psychic or somethin', how're you able to see it comin'?"

"People often think I'm not paying any attention to my surroundings when I meditate," the yoga expert explained. "But you'd be surprised how much spatial awareness one has during meditation. That, and quick reflexes help."

She turned away, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, you probably find that really odd…"

"Huh. Nah, man - that's…that's actually pretty cool."

Both had finally made eye contact once the tension between the two began to melt away. For the most part, Little Mac was relieved that no one got seriously hurt and his ego remained somewhat intact. It wasn't until the campus bell tolled that brought the two back into reality, warning students 10 minutes until the next period began.

"Ah, gotta go –"

"– Sorry, I have class –"

Mac and Trainer had spoken at the same time, Mac the first to laugh it off before heaving the discarded Sandbag onto his shoulder, "Glad to see that you're good and ya' can take care of yourself. Hopefully next time, we'll meet without the crazy shenanigans again."

She chuckled as well, gathering her bag and school jacket with a gentle smile. Mac noticed the thick stack of books about chess in her arms before she turned towards the exit.

"Same to you, too."

* * *

"Sorry to be a bother again, but were you able to get the books I requested?"

The books were set down on the circular table with a satisfying _'thunk'_, Trainer grinning from behind once seeing Robin's face lit up with joy.

"Sure did! Good thing my brother still kept these," the yoga enthusiast dusted off one of the guidebooks that were on top of the stack, "I fondly remember how much he played chess back when he was here a few years ago."

"Really?" Robin was already eagerly flipping through the assortment of books, "What about you?"

"Me? No way!" she let out lighthearted laugh after taking a seat by the table. "I mean no offense, but I do very much remember how much he kicked my butt last time I tried playing chess."

It was ten past noon on the large metallic clock, which hung high between the large columns frosty glass windows on the right side of the mess hall. The two had already finished their morning classes and made it through the lunch crowd. The Fils-Aime Cafeteria was firmly industrious and self-sufficient, a stark contrast to their rival school's indulgent dining hall. On the other hand, the school didn't shy away on the vast area of seating, which was spacious enough to fit the entire student body plus more.

The lines serving hot entrees were beginning to bottleneck for today's meal as the delicious aroma of freshly made sweet honey rolls, steamed vegetables, and hearty beef stew filled the air. However the girls had already packed a quick, cold lunch on the way over and were now settled in one of the small round tables out in the open.

"Well, I hope you aren't too turned away from chess," Robin gave a contented sigh and shut the book in her hands closed. "Just like a good puzzle, it's rather exciting making quick-paced maneuvers and guessing the opponent's next move. If you are at all interested, I could show..."

Robin's voice trailed on as soon as she noticed her roommate looking out in a dazed, dream-like look. It seemed clear that something took hold in her mind.

"Trainer?"

"Hmm...?"

"Are you alright? You seem distracted."

Trainer blinked, and then shook her head. "Oh, I'm sorry, I was just…thinking about something from earlier. You were saying something?"

Before Robin could ask, Trainer stood up suddenly and peered across the crowded room. If her clinging suspicion served her correct, the ponytailed woman a few feet away from them was indeed a good friend.

"Samus...?"

Trainer raised a bemused eyebrow upon seeing her friend with a lunch tray in hand. It was a surprise seeing the elusive Samus outside anywhere on campus except for class, but not an unwelcomed one. She waved her hand towards one of the empty seats beside her, gesturing Samus to invite her over.

"You don't normally get lunch here," Trainer asked once she was settled back down. "Do you…?"

The bounty hunter shrugged, examining the green apple placed on her tray. Next to it was a small bowl of hot stew and a few large portions of sweet rolls on an opaque plate.

"Normally I go home after classes, but since I'm covering for someone's shift at work this afternoon, I decided to grab something to eat while I'm still here."

She tilted her head toward the new face sitting next to Trainer. "And you are…?"

"Me?"

Once Robin realized Samus was speaking to her, she introduced herself and extended her arm to shake hands. "Robin - I just transferred a few weeks ago and rooming with Trainer at the dorms. I take it you two have known each other for a while?"

"Yes," Trainer replied, her taller friend nodding in agreement. "I actually met Samus before I came here. Back when she was her more arrogant self, if you could believe!"

Samus rolled her eyes as her friend playfully prodded her with a plastic fork. "Yeah, yeah…"

"…there you are! I was wondering where ya' disappeared off to!"

A familiar voice came from behind, quickly getting the table's attention. Right behind Samus was none other than the spiky haired boxer, Little Mac. His feet came to an immediate halt, however, once Trainer's face came to view.

"It's you!"

"You again!"

Their jaws dropped, the words instantly flew out of their mouths like a clumsy mess. Samus eyed them both on their astute observation.

"You two know each other?" She asked soon after their accidental outburst. Both of them hastily nodded, flushed red from a mix of embarrassment and surprise. Their friends at hand looked either indifferent or confused, but nonetheless said nothing. Fortunately for everyone, the awkward moment didn't last long as Trainer was quick to change the subject.

"So…" she began after Mac took a seat next to Samus. "I take it you're acquainted with Sam here?"

"Yeah, actually," he paused to chew and swallow in between mouthfuls, "She's actually one of the first friends I made here so far - met at Doc's gym one night after she gave Sandbag the beating of his life!"

His toothy smile soon faded into a disgruntled frown at the reminder of what happened this morning. "Doc's got to replace those _damn_ chains…" he huffed again with narrowed eyes.

"Really now…" Trainer aimed an innocent grin towards Samus. "Becoming socially aware and somehow managing _not_ to scare off the entire freshmen class? You are really pulling all the stops this year after all!"

Robin couldn't help but chuckle when she saw Samus respond to the light-hearted jab with an "accidental" elbow nudge to the shoulder. "Quit making me out as socially inept. Not all of us were born with all-natural Adderall running in our veins like _some_ people here…"

"Ow – hey...!"

"Oh hey, I just realized I haven't introduced myself to you yet," Mac turned his attention to the pig-tailed strategist while the other two bickered in the background. "Call me Little Mac. And you?"

"Robin – first year, just transferred."

"Freshmen too? Awesome, like me!" He reached over to greet with a fist, to which Robin clumsily attempted to fist bump back.

"Yo."

Ike's deep voice was heard behind the scraping sound of a chair moving back, now leaving no more empty gaps on the table.

"Hope you guys don't mind – the rest of the tables down here were full, cept' for this one."

The rest of the group didn't seem to mind with Samus nonchalantly shrugging and Trainer giving her usual welcoming smile. Ike gave a brief nod to Mac and Robin, the latter whom he recognized from one his afternoon classes. He, along with Little Mac, took an eye on the large stack of books now set aside.

"You're really taking that chess thing seriously, aren't you?"

"Heh, you can tell, huh?" Robin couldn't help but give a smile brimming with humble pride. "I'm just preparing for this week's big meet-up. With all honesty, chess is a lot of fun if you give it try."

The chief mercenary chuckled and dug his spoon into the hot soup. "Thanks for the offer, but I'll leave those brain puzzles with you instead."

Standing a good distance away was a tall figure to which looked around the vast array of students with the intent of searching for a familiar face. Whether it was known to him or not, Chrom stuck out like a sore thumb among the Fils-Aime lunch rush. The unmistakable Archanean blue hair, topped with the sleek and formal school wear certainly didn't help his case of laying low. Luckily for him, the prince was too wrapped up on maneuvering through the crowd to pay much attention to everyone else around him.

His eyes finally locked onto the sight of Samus' long, blond ponytail on one of the lunch tables a few meters away.

"Samus! Just the person I was looking for!" he called out to grab her attention. "I've finished with the books you sent me, so I wanted to stop to drop them off."

The blonde eyed the visitor with a sidelong glance. "...you do know you don't have to return these directly to me, right?"

"What? But these are interlibrary loans, correct?" (2)

Ike turned with a bitter distaste written on his face upon seeing Chrom's prim and proper school blazer and slacks. His nose wrinkled as if he smelled a terrible odor in the air. Both Mac and Trainer, too, were partly curious of his visit.

"Are you lost?" the Greil Knight leader questioned.

"Uh..." Samus somehow managed to keep a straight face when Chrom answered him with genuine confusion, "...no?"

"Hold on a sec, are you two related?" Mac piped in, noting their similar blue shades of hair.

"No!" both had burst out, Ike being the louder one.

"Chrom? What are you doing here?"

Robin finally caught wind of their conversation and was surprised of the unexpected reunion with Chrom, albeit not as much as Trainer and Little Mac were minutes ago.

"Robin?" He eagerly grinned and waved, but placed the small parcel of books behind his back. "Long time, no see! I take it that Fils-Aime has been treating you well."

"Wait a minute – Robin, that's Chrom? Like _the_ Chrom of Ylisse?" She spoke to Robin in hushed tones. "The guy you said had rescued you in the woods?"

_"Shhhhhhh...!"_ the pig-tailed Plegian hissed, frantically waving her hands to stop her roommate from continuing on. As comfortable as she was in sharing her memories of Chrom with Trainer, she wasn't quite ready for the whole student body to know. Especially with a table full of people she had just met.

"I didn't know you actually meant the Ylissian prin –"

The table suddenly jerked forward when Ike sharply stood up with his tray of unfinished food in tow.

"If you excuse me, it's rather _stuffy_ in here," Ike interjected, a slight edge found in his tone. "And I need some fresh air."

And with that, he turned and left the table in one full motion.

A moment of uncomfortable silence passed, Mac finally wondered aloud, "Wonder what's gotten into him." For as long as he's known his roommate, Ike is understood as someone who is fairly easy going and friendly. Yet this was the first time he's ever seen him more than just miffed. Perhaps he could ask at a later time, when Ike seemed more level-headed.

"About earlier," Chrom quickly returned to the initial conversation. "Should I leave the books here for you?"

Samus stretched her arms after finishing her last bite and leaned back into her chair. "Even though these don't belong to the school, you can still drop them off there. The assistant librarians will leave it on my desk until I get to it later today."

"Ah. Alright then."

"Do you know where our library is?" Samus stopped him before he began heading out.

"Erm, I think I can figure it out by myself. Thank you for your help, though," he replied.

She thought to herself for a second, then turned to Robin and asked, "Robin, you know where the library is, right? Can you show Chrom where it is?"

"Eh? Me?" She peeked from behind the cover of her strategy book with wide eyes.

"Is that too much to ask?" Samus began.

"No, no – it's no trouble, I can do it –"

"It's honestly okay, I'll be fine –"

Before Chrom and Robin could continue prattle on, Samus dismisses it all with a wave of her hand; Trainer and Little Mac indulging in their exchange to their amusement.

"Don't over-think it, you guys. The library is only a 3 minute walk away, so you can just point it out and be on your way."

"Alright then, Robin," Chrom finally relented, giving a confident smile. "I guess you're showing me the ropes around here this time."

Robin nodded in return, but felt the all too familiar warmth brush across her face again.

* * *

Late evening. Downtown.

The young heir of the Mushroom Kingdom didn't plan on staying out so late, but she couldn't help herself after all. The alluring temptation of "just one more!" kept her spontaneous window-shopping longer than originally planned. And now, losing track of time had left her alone to drink in the sights of the glowing marketplace district soon after stores began closing shop for the evening. She sighed and pouted, her wishful thinking was a city of this caliber having at least one shopping center that ran twenty-four, seven. Perhaps it was for the best, as it was late and she had classes early in the morning the next day.

Peach kept up the brisk walk down the wet sidewalk, peering at the low lit windows and shopkeepers switching off their OPEN neon signs. She wandered past a few construction spots, cracked concrete walls, and overhanging wood scaffolds. A few faded advertisements for a new bar called "Seventh Heaven – coming soon 2X18" were plastered all across a street corner. In spite of being within the border of Midtown area, the city seemed much more isolated now that businesses were locking up their doors. Only now did the blinking beams from the street side lampposts guide her path back to the academy.

The princess debated whether she should catch a ride on the local transit bus, but eventually thought against it. The campus was barely a mile away and she was tough enough to handle a simple stroll through the city. Furthermore, she didn't like the idea of standing next a bus stop all by herself. And that case of the tournament veteran who had mysteriously gone missing…the very idea caused her anxious heart to grow panic and to quicken her pace.

_'__Stop it. You're getting _way_ too ahead of yourself, Peach. Nintendo Land is a _very _safe city…'_

She continued to reassure herself in the face of her frantic heart rate thumping in her chest. She was almost certain that the shadows lurking in every corner of her peripheral were _just_ all in her imagination. Peach stiffened for a moment, a sudden feeling of unease creep up her spine.

_'Breathe. Stay calm. There's plenty of street patrols tonight...'_

In the still night, she slowed down her pace and sure enough, she could vaguely hear another pair of feet in the distance. The daunting footsteps were far enough in where her ears could barely distinguish them from the urban noise, but near enough to hear them closing in on her. The princess's body became paralyzed with fear. The thought of even turning around to confront the stranger brought her short of breath.

_'__Walk faster, walk faster, walk faster, _walk faster_,'_ she could almost feel her heart trying to leap out from her throat, the clicks of her heels steadily broke to a cautious jog. Somehow, the approaching footsteps matched hers and increasingly drew closer and closer. Sweat collected on her brow, clammy hands gripping to her arms to cease her shaking and hitched breathing. Were the looming darkness playing tricks with her eyes again?

Only did her eyes widen in absolute terror when she felt a stranger's hand upon her shoulder. She couldn't even choke back a frightened gasp. Without warning, her hand automatically went for the iron skillet hidden her baggy purse, then turned on her heel to promptly nail the assailant square on the temple.

"_Don't. Touch me!"_ Peach declared at once, standing her ground, before adding, "Please."

Her voice remained loud and clear, but quivering hands weakened her strong grip on the heavy weapon. The pink princess hoped her loud voice would deter the stranger from attacking back, but to her shock, the mysterious follower was not one wearing dirty clothes or a sketchy trench coat. In its place was a rather pain stricken red-haired boy, found flat on his back and rubbing a rather sore bruise forming on the side of his head.

"By Gods, watch where you wield that thing!" He blanched when the end of the skillet was pushed forward towards his face. "Ahck – wait! Hang on a second!"

"What do you want with me?" Peach demanded and had thrust the pan closer to the boy's face.

"Wha – okay, you're going to take someone's eye out with that," he gently, but firmly eased the skillet back with his hands. "I thought you were lost and needed help, but clearly, I'm in the wrong here – _ouch_."

"Huh? Really?"

She appeared to let her guard down, but only briefly. Peach glanced down at the fallen figure below and noticed that he wasn't showing any clear signs of lying or deceitfulness. For the most part, he voiced no intent of attacking her, and while technically armed with a large blue and gold sword, his blade was safely sheathed by his side. He appeared to be close to her age and donned on the familiar Iwata uniform and a gold-blue headband.

"Look, I get it," he grimaced when pushing himself up from the damp ground. "This is all just a very _big_ misunderstanding. Let's just…forget this whole thing happened so no one gets arrested." He cringed when he gingerly touched the bump growing on his forehead.

The sudden realization that she had injured a helpful Samaritan in a rather brash manner quickly poured a bucket of cold water over her fearful anger. All there was left was sinking feeling of guilt welling up inside herself.

"I'm so sorry! The nerves – they got the best of me," she silently put her cookware back into her bag and extended a hand to pull the stranger back onto his feet. "I shouldn't have attacked a random stranger, especially one trying to help."

"No, I'm the one who should apologize," he reassured with a weary smile after dusting off the dirt from his pants. "I shouldn't have startled you, especially this late at night around these parts. I should've used better judgment."

One look of Peach's forlorn expression caused him to sigh.

"How about we do quick redo, clean slate?" The redhead offered an open hand for polite reconciliation. "My name is Roy, Roy of Pherae by the way."

Peach blinked when she took his hand, wondering where she had heard that name from before. The old conversation she had with Zelda from weeks ago resurfaced from memory.

_"__He and Marth knew each other since they were kids, so you'll probably meet him sooner or later." _

"Roy...? Like, _the_ Roy?"

"_The_ Roy?" He repeated with hands in his pockets and wiggled his eyebrows for a thoughtful moment. "Pray tell, are there more?"

Peach imagined a smaller, Koopa-like figure of the same name, seemingly hazy in her mind. She then shook her head and brushed the afterthought away.

"Well, technically I may know another Roy, but you're _definitely _not him. Are – I mean, do you know someone named Marth?"

"Marth? You mean Prince Marth of Altea? Well, of course I know _of_ him," A mischevious smile on his lips gave way to his teasing ways.

"Oh…dumb question, never mind me. I must have mistaken you for someone else," She earnestly apologized with a small bow. "Just ignore what I just said."

"Pffft…! I'm sorry, I'm just messing with you," Roy's laugh rang out in the chilly air. "Of course I know who Marth is – he's my best friend. But enough about me, I never got your name."

"Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom," The blonde royal took the small hem of her black and white striped dress (3) and gave a small curtsy. "I'm good friends with both Marth and Zelda, so I've heard about you and how you've returned this year."

"So it _is_ you! Marth would mention about you and I was wondering when I'd ever meet you."

"Really...?"

Roy couldn't help but break into a relieved grin. If his head wasn't still spinning, he might've even laughed. Finally, after weeks of hearing her name, he could attach a face to it – and a pretty one at that. Of course, he didn't want to risk saying the wrong thing now that things were settled between them. Just from what he's experienced, princess was armed and wasn't afraid to dish it out.

"Where are you heading to anyways?" Roy finally asked.

"Iwata, Bella Hall to be exact. And you?"

"Was heading back to Avery, and Bella is on the way," he nodded, and then faced east to where Peach was initially walking towards. An eager spark twinkled in Roy's eyes as he offered an open arm. "Shall we? It's rather dangerous being all alone out here..."

Peach's only response was to shake her head and walk past his gesture. As flattered as she was of Roy's offer to walk her home, she was doing just fine on her own. Still, she couldn't hold back the smile on her rosy lips.

"You know I can take of myself."

"I know, I know," he held up his hands as he followed close behind her, taking the curbed side that faced the empty streets. "But someone might have to protect you from them scary red-haired boogey-men that might be roaming around, trying to help other people – the horror!"

She tried her best to sarcastically glare back, but ended up giggling at the mental image now stuck in her head. "Of course you would know of that, you creep."

"Hey now, let's not stoop to name-calling..."

On their walk back to Iwata, the two began exchanging pleasantries and mild banter – Peach apologizing at least two more times about the skillet incident – before she finally asked the question that weighed deeply in her thoughts.

"I was just wondering...what was so important for you to leave the academy last year?"

Roy glanced at her for a moment, his face unreadable up until his eyes met the night sky.

"I was off leading the men of my nation to war."

_"__What?!" _

She was quickly taken aback and let out an uneasy laugh. "Y-you're joking...right?"

"Nope. Dead serious here," Contrary to the topic at hand, Roy kept the even level tone of his voice as they continued walking down the vacant sidewalk. The cityscape was fading further behind them as they entered towards the dimly lit suburban neighborhoods.

"Thought that Marth, Zelda, or even Chrom or Lissa would've brought it up by now, but I guess they probably didn't want to sound like they were spreading gossip about me."

"O-oh."

Peach waited for the moment where Roy would break the straight-faced act and announce it all to be a silly joke, but such a notion never came. Her heart felt heavy after the sudden mood whiplash.

"I'm. I'm sorry – I never knew. I shouldn't have been so careless."

"Don't be. You never knew. The good news is that we won, of course. And besides," Roy spotted a pebble on concrete path and kicked it forward, "I didn't do it only out of obligation. It's what you do to protect your family and the people you cherish. I'd do it again if I had to."

"...wow, I…" Amidst no sign of wind, she felt chills run down her arms. "Now I'm starting to feel like I'm terribly spoiled."

"Why? War is a horrid blot of humanity as a whole," Roy finally kicked the small stone off the curb and into the empty street. "I would not wish such a burden on anyone. Well, at least anyone I cared about."

"But at least your enemy forces got their swift comeuppance! ...Right?"

She immediately felt a change of mood surrounding the lord; a faint somber tone rang clear in his voice.

"You never forget the fact that even your own enemies are people. People with families, friends, children… you have to wonder whether the value of one's life was really worth taking away in the long run, no matter what. Who was left behind…who grew up without the care of a mother or father."

Peach stayed quiet and listened.

"You'd think that feeling would go away after the war is done and over, but it's always there. You never really..." a heavy sigh, "...truly forget."

The couple was met with silence at Roy's last statement. Before the solemn moment could linger on, Peach quietly cleared her throat and refocused the conversation onto something else.

"Say! That cool sword of yours," she quipped cheerfully. "Where'd you get something like that? Perhaps a well-deserved treasure from past travels?"

"This here?" He traced his fingers at the jeweled guard and jade hilt. "The Sword of Seals, the holy sword drawn from the Shrine of Seals. (3) On our last charge against the Bern Palace was hard pressed, and many of our good men and women perishing in the name of our homeland. But at last – victory was within our grasp once we defeated the last remainder of Zephiel's soldiers and eventually the Bern King himself. All would be for naught without the divine power of this blade."

He paused for a moment and realized he got lost in his own tale of his past. He coughed to clear his head and put on his usual smile.

"I apologize; this all must be very boring to you. I hope you don't mind me talking your ear off."

Peach found herself speechless, unable to form any words on what was on her mind. She was so intent on listening to Roy that she was caught off guard of the familiar sight of the porch lights of her duplex. (4) Up above on the second floor was the balcony leading to her cousin's bedroom, her silhouette seen behind closed curtains.

"Well Princess," Roy took a slight bow and gestured towards the front door. "Your castle awaits..."

Roy expected her to shake her head or roll her eyes, but the blonde appeared to be deep in thought. She faced towards the door, then turned back again to Roy.

"Roy…" she began in a quiet voice. "Everything you've told me – that's a very brave thing you did. And I mean every word."

"You think so...?" Roy was genuinely surprised to hear that from her, but took the compliment with ease. "Well..._thank you_ for listening. I'm sure next time you'll share some exciting stories of Marth during the time I was away."

Peach hesitated for a second. "And about earlier...I'm –"

"Enough."

He held up his hand to motion her to stop. "I told you already, it's really alright. _However,_ you could make it up to me..."

"With what?" She straightened up to hear his request. If it could undo her mistake, she was more than willing to make amends.

"You _could_ accompany yours truly to our chess meet with Fils-Aime this Friday."

_'__What.'_

She blinked once. Then twice.

"Are you...is this a date?"

"Do you want it to be?" He tilted his head, playfully confused. "I could use someone to cheer me on, and it seems fair to me after today..."

"Oh..." Peach furrowed her brow with a deadpan look on her face. Of course. "I see how it is…"

"What? Have you no pity for a wounded man? You _did_ in fact attack poor, _innocent_ me –"

"_Goodnight_, Roy."

With a wave of her hand, she turned her back and walked inside. However, the princess softly spoke before shutting the door and turning the locks behind her.

"I'll be at the library after class Friday. See you there."

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Happy holidays!

Here again for another round of updates! *bows head* I plead mercy for the horrible lateness and all, but I must say...

**HOLY COW CLOUD STRIFE IS IN SUPER SMASH BROTHERS...?! AND SO IS BAYONETTA AND CORRIN...?!**

(Okay by the time I update this is old news but I don't care *cough*)

I mean, yeah, back in Brawl days, people joked about Cloud, but now it being for _real_? After promptly having a freak out at work after watching the November Nintendo direct live, I had to sit down and think of how to have such an iconic character be in my story. I knew most of the story of Final Fantasy VII and I loved watching Advent Children when I was younger, so implementing his part in Strangers of Glory was going to be interesting.

However, I thought the complex storyline of Final Fantasy VII is unfortunately too big to be fully touched upon in this universe. So similarly to Roy, Cloud will appear as post-Final Fantasy VII which is about 1-2 years after the events of Advent Children take place. The best example I can convey is the Cloud from "Full Circle" by _NRGburst_. WHICH by the way (shameless plug I know) is probably the best Final Fantasy VII fanfictions I've read. If you love yourself some slice-of-life and adorable romance, give it a read!

As for Bayonetta and Corrin, I'll have to do some tweaking to SoG to fit these awesome contenders in. I have yet to play Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2 (*hides in my shame*), but after the Final Smash Presentation, I'm definitely going to check those titles out. Knowing for a fact that Bayonetta is an Angel Hunting Witch definitely means she'll play some sort of part or role in Pit's character arc further down the line.

Lastly, for Corrin...oh goodness, I was at a loss! While I'm very excited for the western release for Fire Emblem: Fates and I'm all for Fire Emblem additions in Smash (unpopular opinion?), I actually don't know much about the story behind Fates and Corrin's character aside from the fact that she/he is the player's avatar (like Robin in Awakening) and is part Dragon. Fortunately, my good friend, _sorutan_, is helping me find a potential role for Corrin as I'm super excited to utilize such a unique character for _Strangers of Glory._

Finally, in terms of maintaining continuity, I was debating for a while which iteration of Snake should be SoG. Snake in Brawl is…interesting – I had a discussion with a good friend of mine, who is well versed in the Metal Gear lore. He told me that Snake in Brawl had Solid Snake's classic outfit, but the face model of Big Boss, making it so that Snake isn't a direct iteration from either Solid Snake or Big Boss. After some thinking, I decided to base SoG Snake on **Big Boss pre-MGS3** (before the eye-patch). MGS5 Big Boss is interesting as a character, but I felt was a bit too dark for SoG and that I would be unable to fully nail down his dark persona. Unrelated note, but I really enjoy semi-happy Snake (pre-Big Boss) before…really bad stuff begins happening to him. While I'm using Snake from MGS3, I'll be a bit flexible on interpretation. He will remain a minor role, but I'll try to stay true to his character and lore. Again – not a MGS expert and if I make any mistakes, please let me know!

Again, as bittersweet I feel about the last DLC announcements for Smash, I'm fully excited to focus back on my story! NOW IF ONLY I COULD STOP GETTING STUCK ON WRITING EVERY NOW AND THEN. Okay, I'm done making my author's note longer than usual!

For all my followers, stay tuned for the next chapter, **_Numinous._**

**\- A. Mitsuni**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

_"__**From the Sky: **__ Wow! This is a great fanfic! I wished I discovered this sooner. Everyone is in character and each have their own screen time. Its not easy to write School AUs in this fandom (in my opinion at least), but this one is done amazingly! _

_Though, I noticed that some descriptions in previous chapters don't match up with others, like if I remember correctly you describe Zelda with brown (or was it almond?) hair in one of the earlier chapters (I think it was the third?), but other times she is blond, So you might want to go back and edit that. Also in the previous chapter said Link was admitted into Fils-aime a few weeks ago, but in earlier chapters he was a third year so was this also a typo? Just wondering because it is not exactly clear. So you might want to go back and fix somethings, but I must be hard keeping track of so many characters. So constructive criticism there. :) and I defiantly saw writing improvement as read the chapters. That's Great! :D_

_Oh, So the Master Sword is one of the Five Fabled Blades I suspected as much as it is one of the most iconic video game weapons in history, but according to Zelda lore (mainly Skyward Sword) only Link can wield the Master Sword so how did they manage to get? Was it never retured to the pedestal after the war or what?, but all the Zelda games that include the Master Sword always have it retured to its pedestal so..._

_Anyway, I just have to wait for the next chapter, can't wait! Hope you'll have a lighter schedule, but I understand life comes first. Until next time!"_

Thank you for dropping by a review, From the Sky! I very much appreciate...

_'Zelda with brown (or was it almond?) hair in one of the earlier chapters ... other times she is blond' _

**OH GOD! **

*rushes over to every chapter and attempts to correct continuity errors*

Dammit! I thought I got most of it during editing, but alas! I am but human. And a lazy one at that. Again, to my readers, I'm kind of doing the one-man army on my story, so I do the entire world building, story plotting, writing, and lastly, editing, posting, and post-update tweaks. Every now and then, my lovely friend, _sorutan_, will preview and edit a new chapter for grammar and spelling, but as of now, I do not have a dedicated editor on board.

I do not have a beta reader/editor at the moment, but... *points to the empty box in the corner* I will accept any applications if anyone is experienced and willing to look over new chapters! Warning: you'll deal with a whiny writer, ech.

Thank you for bringing up those points - I reread chapters to tweak my writing every now and then, but mistakes like those sometimes go under the radar. As for my other readers, if you ever find a typo, continuity error, or at worst, plot hole (oh God), please let me know as soon as possible so I can fix it!

Now, you bring up an interesting question about the Master Sword, and yes, usually it's sealed within a pedestal in the video games. However, I changed that bit to fit my story. While I can't bring up later story plots, I will say that the mysterious Five Swordsmen of legend disappeared, but the swords they left behind _did not_.

After several centuries, the swords were finally passed back to their home kingdoms. By post-modern day era, society has become stable and prospered after years of peace and economic boom due to interstellar trade, communication, travel, and technological advancement among many things. While mundane and combat magic are all obviously still used, fantastical magic of a grand, large scale - akin to the story of the Five Swordsmen so long ago - is passed down as legend rather than history. Because of this general mindset, the kingdoms view the swords as timeless artifacts of the past rather than powerful weapons in their own right. The treasured blades have been hidden away, re-forged or altered, replicated to prevent theft, or up on a secured display or exhibit.

So short answer...yes, the Master Sword was not returned back on the pedestal. Rather, the Hylian royal family has kept the Master Sword within the castle, but they apparently no longer hold much belief for the Hero of Time to return, now that war on a global scale is considered to a be something of the past...or so it seems...?

_"__**MoonSpiritGuardian**__: Sorry for a late review, but boy, I'm jealous, I love your writing style 3 this deserves more reviews! wish I could write like you and I love how you portray the characters. keep up the great work :D ~Miyako06" _

Aww, thank you for the kind words and for stopping by! My story is (regretfully) off to a slow start, but I hope to get more readers as I update. I know it's not always about reviews, but I love getting feedback and I read every review that's sent to me. I've read your story, "When You're Here With Me" and I think your writing is just fine! I hope you'll stick around and keep reading on!

* * *

**Index: **

(1) In Fils-Aime Battalion School, students are given a free period from 9:00 -10:30 AM Monday through Friday, which is a gap between classes and extracurricular activities. While students are free to use this period for whatever activities (studying, rest, work, etc.), it's encouraged for students to dedicate this period to gym training and preparing for the summer tournament.

(2) An interlibrary loan (often referred as ILL) is a common service whereby a patron of one library can borrow books or receive photocopies of documents that are owned by various other libraries. In this case, Samus pulled sources and books from the Fils-Aime Undergraduate Library and delivered them to Iwata Academy for Chrom.

(3) Shrine of Seals is a secretly located temple in the land of Elibe, within the borders of the nation of Bern. The Shrine is a massive structure surrounded by forests and mountains in a secluded location so to safeguard the Seal of the Legendary Weapons of Elibe, and the Sword of Seals.

(4) The Iwata Student duplexes are based on this image seen here: (image link provided on blog in my profile)

* * *

**Bonus: **

An elderly boxing coach pillowed his arms under his head on top his desk, fast asleep after a long day's work. Among the various clutter on his table were misplaced papers and notebooks, a faded coffee cup stain found on the left corner.

But be as it may…

The door to his office slammed open and nearly knocked over the many framed photos on his wall. The booming sound of the door opening was enough to startle the sleeping Doc Louis wide awake. Unfortunately for him, his feet got tangled underneath his office chair and as a result, caused the old man to fall straight onto the ground.

"Doc!" His own star pupil stormed into his office with a fist full of clanking metal chains.

"Goddammit, you _need_ to replace these chains before someone gets hurt!"


	12. Chapter Twelve: Numinous

**Chapter 12: **Numinous

* * *

**Numinous**: (English) (adj.)_ Describing an experience that makes your fearful yet fascinated, awed yet attracted; the powerful, personal feeling of being overwhelmed and inspired._

* * *

_'Where is he…?'_

Nana's fingers tapped on the screen of her phone before sighing to herself and pocketing the small device. Twenty minutes had already passed since her sibling told her to meet at the common's lounge, but knowing him, another pestering message would not do much to his constant lateness. She chewed her thoughts over, her foot tapping impatiently and contemplated if she should return back to her room considering that she didn't want to waste away her Sunday afternoon.

Beyond the wide open windows, the glimmer of light hiding behind grey skies resounded a feeling of melancholy. However, it wasn't long until the young mountaineer's thoughts were quickly interrupted.

"Guess who…!"

She was caught off-guard when cool hands clasped around the young girl's eyes and face, who snorted after she swatted away the hands off her face.

"Har, har, very funny Popo," Nana stuck her tongue out and stood up, prodding her finger to her twin's chest. "Geez, what took you so long?"

"What?" the blue-hoodied boy shrugged. "It's not _my_ fault you're came over too early."

She only rolled her eyes, and then grabbed his arm and dragging him towards the exit.

"This was _your_ idea to meet up! Now c'mon! Let's go before the mini mart closes…"

A cool breeze greeted their faces after opening the heavy set doors and headed westward through the grassy courtyard and toward the school's recreational center and plaza. (1) The yellowing awning before them was no longer brimming with activity now that most of the students retreated into the comfortable indoors and away from the cold weather. Nana shivered and pulled the collar of her knitted sweater closer to herself when another torrent of mist brushed past her.

"Ugh, I can handle snow, but not the rain," she grumbled with a pinched frown. "Too wet and awful, and you just end up miserable and yucky."

Popo couldn't help but laugh at her apparent souriness. "Is that so? I'd take this over the scorching summer we had back in August any day!"

"Oh god, I forgot about that!" she finally smiled as she remembered their absolute shock when they entered the city on record-hitting temperatures.

"You'd nearly died, haha!"

"Eugh, don't remind me…" he groaned before quickly shaking his head. "I'm actually enjoying actually the normal weather, thank you very much."

"Popo…?"

The sudden dip in Nana's tone caught his attention.

"Hmm?"

"Do you ever miss home? Mom and Dad, and everyone back in the village?"

He blinked once, twice, then raised an eyebrow, "What brings this up?"

"I was just thinking about it the other day…" She paused for a second to adjust her bag on her shoulder. "About the last few weeks and how quickly everything changed…"

* * *

_"See! I told you I could get it all of it on one trip!" _

_A flurry of snowflakes rode in on a gust of wind before the door was slammed shut. The triumphant wood retriever stood at the doorway with a rather accomplished grin underneath her pink hooded parka. One of the small bundles of wood fell from Nana's already full arms, in which she whistled innocently and kicked away. _

_"You didn't see that." _

_Her twin brother simply tsked, a freshly sharpened ax carried on his shoulders behind his head. "Hate to break it to you, but you still haven't broken my record…" _

_Nana's only response was unceremoniously dropping the wood on a separate pile on the ground. _

_"Well, _your face_ hasn't broken your record, how 'bout that?" _

_"Dude, that doesn't make any sense."_

_"_Your face_ doesn't make any sense – ack!" After blowing a raspberry his way, she ducks when Popo began flicking thick wood chips at her head. _

_Before the twins could start another war over spare twigs and dirt in the shed, her brother clasped onto a handful of logs from the growing pile and steadied his ax. Now with the harsh winter settling in the mountains, the twins would often alternate going out for firewood from the dense wilderness. Once their chores were done and their daily rounds around the village's borders were finished, the Ice Climbers would take turns braving the cold to fetch logs and upkeep the warmth in the frozen season. _

_"Popo…" _

_"What's up?"_

_Even with her hood up, her distant expression reflected of the iced glass pane. "Do you ever…wonder what's out there?"_

_"What, like penguins or something?"_

_"N-no!" she huffed indignantly. "You know what I mean! Like, out there. Beyond the village."_

_He returned a glance at her, snickering with a teasing glint in his eyes. "Nan, what'd I tell you about reading Mom's romance books…?"_

_"It was _one _time! Stop bringing it up!"_

_After Nana batted her brother away on the back, she slumped back down on the flat end of a large wood log with head resting on her hands. _

_"I'm serious...have you ever dreamt of what's really out there? Get away from this ol' town to travel the world and see new things, new people?" _

_Popo perched the handle of his ax next to his feet. "Well...now that you're bringing it up, that does sound interesting..." _

_"So you get it though! Right?" Popo was taken aback when his sibling stood up suddenly with an excited grin. "Don't tell me you've never dreamt of running away and going off on an adventure! Be a part of something that's - I don't know, big! Bigger than yourself!" _

_He finally stopped Nana prancing about with a firm hand to her shoulder. _

_"Whoa, chill out, Nana. You're starting to sound like that one Disney princess – the one with the long hair and stuff –" _

_"So? C'mon double P, don't tell me you actually want to stay here for the rest of your life like Ma and Pa..." _

_"Well no!" He was quick to insist, "But I think you're getting a tad bit ahead of yourself."_

_She raised her eyebrow, prompting him to confess, "I mean...yeah we've hardly ever ventured outside the province borders, and it would be cool to travel but..." _

_"But...?" _

_"Look, I don't know! Maybe the world out there isn't as interesting as it's cracked up to be." _

_Nana was ready to argue back when the high pitched sound rose above the howling wind outside. She paused and slowly turned towards the window. _

_"Did you…hear something...?" _

_"Not sure..." _

_The screech returned, louder and clearer, alongside the visceral roar of a ravenous beast rumbling outside their small shed. The climber twins immediately dropped the conversation and jumped into action, easily recognizing the sound of the infamous wild White Bear. (2)_

_"That definitely sounds like trouble!"_

_Popo faced Nana, who nodded as well. Within the next second, the two grabbed their large wood mallets left by the door side and ran out into the blizzard. _

* * *

"Ahh…good ol' Captain T. If it wasn't for me, he'd be a goner for sure."

"_Ahem_, excuse you," Nana pulled back the glass door, leading into the large recreational center. "You do mean if it weren't for _us,_ Popo."

The double doors of the old building lead straight into a wide and surprisingly modern lobby area. Although it has been around for nearly as long as the old academic halls, and still upheld the old brick and wood paneling from several decades ago, the Zell Rec Center was newly remodeled on the inside. Beyond the oval foyer, the center separated into several sections – on the left wing of the building were several empty classrooms and small spaces for extracurricular classes; the right side devoted to the sizeable bookstore next to a small convenience store. At the center was the entryway leading into Sakurai Junior Academy's multi-purpose gymnasium, housing both the fitness pool and a climbing wall.

"C'mon, we both know who really got the last hit on 'em."

The twins briskly passed through the lobby area and straight towards the mart, their bickering lost among a sea of conversations.

"That's only because I was busy trying to – I dunno – make sure Captain_ didn't fall off the cliff!_"

"Details, _shmetails _– all that matters is that I won – oof!" Popo wheezed when his sister elbowed him in the gut.

"Quit yer' bragging and hurry up!" Nana flicked him on the forehead with her finger and leaned against the wall. "We don't got all day."

"Yeah, yeah."

The familiar doorbell jingled once they opened the door and entered into the food mart. With what little extra spending money their parents deposited into their student accounts, the twins would end up splurging and picking up snacks every now and then. Much to her dismay, however, the school's faculty strictly regulated what kind of food students could buy at the school's store, which meant banning several sweet candies and junk foods.

With a sad sigh, Nana stopped skimming through the snack shelves and moved over to the sliding door fridge. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Popo get approached by two others, the tall girl with pink, cropped hair and a blue sweater too large for her body, and the shorter, blonde bearing a long, green cap. A curious glance their way proved the former to be Kumatora and the latter, Link, next to her. (3)

It was always Popo who was always the more laid-back and approachable out of the two. As much as Nana put up a brave front, she wasn't exactly well versed with talking with everyone. She could hear the three of them converse next to the cashier, Kumatora laughing out loud over a joke. Nana yearned to turn around and join them, and yet something inside her kept her quiet and to herself.

Was it homesickness? Shyness?

At this point, she wasn't even sure herself either.

Maybe, just for now...it was for the best that she just stayed off in the corner.

* * *

_"I cannot thank you enough for saving my life! I thought for sure I'd be a bear food!" _

_An older man in full mountain gear and standing twice the size of the small red toad, gruffly prodded the crackling firewood with a black fire iron. _

_"You do know that you were technically trespassing through our private property…" _

_"A-ahh...!" _

_The toad began to quake, sinking onto his knees and begged for forgiveness from the hardwood floor._

_"P-please don't arrest me! I-I swear, I w-wasn't out to rob anyone or anything horrible!" he quivered, "I'll tell you everything – y-you can even verify my identification! I was told of a shortcut through the forest trail but I lost my map to the wind and then I fell off into a cavern and then –" _

_"Dear, I think you're being a bit too harsh on our guest here." _

_A gentle hand rested on the man's shoulder, to the toad's relief. The bearded man only responded with an unimpressed look while the twins on the pelt rug stifled back a laugh. _

_"How can I forget my manners so easily?!" He shuffled back up and stood proudly after adjusting his headlamp. "Captain Toad of the Toad Brigade, reporting for duty!" _(4)

_"My name is Lusa," the twins' mother sat down after wiping her hands on a dish cloth. "And this here stick in the mud is Anik." _(5)

_"Hmph."_

_"And I hope our children were polite enough to introduce themselves as well…" _

_Lusa's sent gentle, yet stern look towards the twins sitting to their left on the wool couch; Nana giggling over Captain Toad's exaggerated mannerisms. _

_"What were you doing 'round these parts?" Anik finally asked. "It's unusual to see someone of your standing all the way out here in the Northern Mountains." _(6)

_"Ah! Yes! About that!" _

_The captain reached into his remarkably large backpack and fished out a crinkled flyer. _

_"I happen to be an official recruiter for the large network of battle schools from the great capital of Nintendo Land City!" _

_Captain Toad continued on as both parents examined the pamphlet, the twins peering from behind. _

_"Our institutes are the top of the league in terms of education and training! We first and foremost specialize in training for the world-renowned Super Smash Brothers Tournament, but! We offer many different programs!"_

_Anik simply shrugged. "Hm. Ave' never heard of it." _

_"What!" _

_"But I have," Lusa took the flyer at hand and elbowed her husband. "Don't mind him, we know of the Smash Tournament, and I've heard about these schools dedicated to train for the world tournament. I just never knew they were sponsored directly from the city itself..." _

_"Yeah!" Popo piped in, perched on top of the couch. "We're talking bout' the big leagues now, aren't we?" _

_"Our largest schools are Fils-Aime Battalion and Iwata Academy, but..."_

_He hesitantly scratched his head after taking another look at the identical siblings – no doubt, they couldn't have been older than eleven years old at most. _

_"Ah! Wait a minute, what am I thinking!?" Captain snapped his fingers, "I believe Sakurai Junior Prep would be a perfect for them! Of course!"_

_"Hmm?" _

_"Excuse me?" _

_"What...?" _

_When met with a chorus of confusion, Captain bowed his head deeply. _

_"So sorry! I've forgotten to explain myself!" after clearing his throat, he continued, "Most of our battle schools aim for students who are 16 years old or higher – with a few exceptions. However!" _

_Captain pulled out another pamphlet, this time the name "Sakurai Junior Preparatory Battle School" clearly labeled on the front cover. _

_"Our city offers classes and training for our younger ones! Our Junior Battle School recruits gifted ones of a younger age by offering up to a 5-year program – a perfect fit for the twins!" _

_The twins' father eyed the brochure, doubtful. _

_"Sounds expensive." _

_"That's where I come in!" _

_The red toad confidently put his thumb to his chest. "As an official recruiter for the Smash Battle School Network, I personally handpick those who's ability or merit is one deserving of a full-ride scholarship!" _(7)

_"Full-ride?" Lusa repeated, wide-eyed. _

_"Yup! Tuition, room and board, school supplies - the whole shebang! In fact, I can even waive the mandatory preliminary tests! At least how I see it, saving my life is already a good enough assessment!" _

_He soon became quiet and his expression grew sheepish._

_ "I don't have much in terms of money or wealth. To be honest, I usually end up getting broke looking for lost treasure on my ventures. However! The least I can do is offer your children this!" _

_"Please consider this opportunity!" Captain Toad pleaded, "Many people would give up everything just for the chance to be accepted by any of our Battle Schools in the heart of Nintendo-Land! This is by no means a meager prospect!" _

_"This…this sounds too good to be true," Nana murmured after staying uncharacteristically quiet for some time. _

_Popo nodded along in agreement. "What's the catch…?" _

_"None, I swear to you all! But I must let you know that if you both do accept my offer, you _must_ attend Sakurai Junior Academy for at least two whole semesters! Afterwards, you both will be given a choice to either renounce your scholarship and return back home, or continue to renew your attendance until you complete your program requirement to transfer to one of our other many schools!" _

_"Two semesters?" Nana blinked, "That means…" _

'We'll be gone for a whole year.'

_The room fell alarmingly quiet, the crackling of the fireplace blended with the background noise. All of a sudden, the whole world Nana knew felt uncomfortably big now. Toad, too, felt the heavy silence as well as he nervously scuffled his feet. _

_"If you need time to think about it –" _

_A high pitched chime rang out from the kitchen stove, to his relief. The twin's mother was quick on her feet and put on a cheerful smile. _

_"Captain, we'll keep everything you said in mind – but for now, would you like to join us for dinner?" she kindly offered. "It'll give you some time to rest your feet before you continue your travels." _

_"Ah…" Captain Toad hesitated before nodding enthusiastically. "If that's alright, I'd love to!" _

* * *

"Nana? Hey, Nana? Yoooooo, Earth to Nana!"

"H-huh…?"

Nana's thoughts were interrupted by her brother's fingers snapping in front of her eyes.

"Man, you've been super zoning out all day. You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking of stuff, that's all," She quickly dismisses him with a wave of her hand.

Popo looked unconvinced for a second, but shrugged it off. Knowing Nana, she'll come around to talk about it once she's comfortable enough to bring up what's on her mind. The two siblings continued down the same cement path back to the student lounge in the still quiet; the skies calmed down to a slight breeze, the air damp and cold.

"Popo?"

She finally broke the silence after a moment of her keeping her thoughts to herself.

"Do you ever regret leaving? Leaving the village to come here?"

"_Do you_?"

"Wait, what?"

Both of them came to a stop on the stone path, the student commons seen straight ahead in the distance. Nana eyed at her brother, making him chuckle.

"Nana, don't think I've forgotten how you were before we decided to come here."

Flushed red, she crossed her arms and pulled the collar up to her face again out of embarrassment. "I dunno what you're talking about…"

Popo grinned, before leaning back in a dramatic fashion. "_Oh, Popo! _Help me! I'm _sooooo_ scared of the big scawy world – _oof! Ouch!"_

His banter quickly stopped after a prompt smack to the back by glass soda bottles inside a paper bag.

"Shut up, shut up, _shut up!_"

* * *

_The twins' bedroom door was quietly shut with nothing but a slight creak, Popo silently slipping inside. The two shared a room together, their former bunk bed had been separated into two beds on opposite sides for a year now. He walked past over the haphazardly placed clothes and misplaced belongings on the ground and sat on the mattress. Nana was to his right, her back against the wall and her knees tucked in close. _

_"You know," he began softly, "Considering how excited you were earlier about leaving this place, I thought I'd walk in with you packed up with your boots halfway outta' door, not here sulking…" _

_"I know, and it's not that I didn't think about earlier I just…" she let out a sigh and buried her face into her legs. "…didn't think it would really just. Happen." _

_"Nan, I know you," he leaned over, shoulder to shoulder. "You always know when the answer is right in front of you, but somehow you second guess yourself. You don't have to hide what you really want to do." _

_"It's…it's not that." _

_"Then what is it?" Popo moved himself over so he was facing her. "Even dad said it himself – he wanted us to decide whether this was something we want to do or not, so don't pass this off for their sake." _

_Nana bit her lip with a sliver of hesitancy. _

_"Promise you won't laugh?" _

_"No." _

_He snorted when she began furiously kicking at his shins. _

_"I'm kidding! _Kidding!_" _

_She sat back down against the wall after calming down. Antics aside, she felt the need give her own brother an explanation. After all, he was thoughtful enough to check up on her after dinner. _

_"I'm not afraid, but I'm...I'm torn," Nana finally confessed. "All that stuff Captain talked about was everything I've only dreamed of but…" _

_"I'm really going to miss everyone. You, mom and dad, all our friends here…" She then scoffed to herself. "Pfft, definitely not Jerry though. Screw that guy." _

_"Dude, _no one_ likes Jerry. Not even mom." _

_They both take a moment to laugh. For once that whole evening, the air didn't feel tense. _

_"Well – wait a minute, what about you? The scholarship applies to you, too." _

_He leaned back and crossed his arms, his expression both thoughtful and nonchalant before shrugging it off. _

_"I want to go." _

_"Really?!" _

_"Geez, don't act all surprised!" Popo laughed out loud, "Of course I'd want to go! This is more than just a brand new adventure. Just think about what Captain said – this is a once in a lifetime opportunity! Something like this doesn't drop on our doorstep every day, you know."_

_"That and," he looked down at his hand before forming a fist. A spark of determination settled behind his eyes. "I want to get stronger. You and I will take over for Dad and protect this village someday. And when that day comes, we'll be ready. This is could be our only chance to get stronger and prove ourselves to everyone." _

_Nana let out a breath she was inadvertently holding in. _

_"I'm sorry, I just – I thought all this time…it'd be just me on my own. Thought you'd want to stay here." _

_"Nana. Don't you remember what we always told each other?" _

_Popo took both hands to her shoulders and turned her so her eyes faced him. _

_"We're in this together. Always."_

* * *

"I wasn't _that _weird and dramatic, alright?!"

With a rough shove, Nana pushed open the door to her dorm room and tossed the paper bag of goodies onto the carpet floor. Popo was not far behind, catching the door's inevitable bounce back from the rubber door stopper to prop it open.

"I got it, I got it."

He flopped onto the light green bean bag chair set of on the corner of the room, courtesy of one of her roommates, Paula. (8)

"And! Besides that!" She tossed him a cherry soda pop, which Popo caught one-handed. "I've been doing just fine on my own. I mean, I've adjusted fine, don't you think?"

He only turned to face Nana with bemused expression.

"What?"

The large dorm room Nana shared was divided into three sections; the larger bedroom shared between Nana and Paula, the smaller and partially walled off bedroom claimed by the not-too-pleasant Wendy, and the narrow lounging area squeezed in between. (9) The girls had already furnished their home away from home – Nana's side of her wall strung old printed photos on clothespins and twine next to a few vintage movie posters, while Paula kept her desk neat and tidy, only a few black-framed pictures were placed between books on her bookshelf.

"Right, if running to your room every day after class like an ol' hermit is called 'adjusting', you've been doing a stellar job so far."

"Hey…! It's not _every _day!" Nana defensively pointed a salted pretzel stick at Popo's direction. "And sometimes I go to the library, too, ya' know!

"Okay, okay. Real talk though," Her brother got up and sat next on the foot of Nana's bed. "You've been acting kinda funny the last few weeks. Don't think I didn't notice you hidin' away at the store."

She leaned against the headrest of her bed, pouting between bites but said nothing.

Popo sighed again, but more out of sympathy than frustration. He knew his sister more than anyone else – as energetic and talkative as she was around him, he knew it took her longer to warm up to people.

"How about this?" He offered. "At least tell me you'll come down for dinner? No more being a loner, alright?"

A playful nudge managed to bring back a small smile. "Fine, fine. You're right."

Right then, there was a knock on the door and a flash of blonde and purple pigtails. (10)

"Elise?" Nana called out.

"Knock, knock, you two!" she playfully stuck out her tongue. "Got five more minutes before play time's over! At least, for this guy over here!" (11)

Popo sat up and dusted off his pants. "I'll take that as my cue to leave. See ya downstairs in a few hours, Nan."

"Oh, wait I – uh…"

Before she could finish, Popo left her room and shut the door behind him.

* * *

_Six months and two suitcases later, the twins had packed up all their belongings and their wooden mallets, and headed on a flight over to Nintendo Land. While their first time on an airplane was exhilarating, they were soon greeted with one of the most humid, blistering summer days in the city. Captain Toad, who escorted them from the airport, had advised them earlier to wear light clothes in consideration of their arrival scheduled right in the dead middle of August. Despite wearing their thinnest clothing, Nana and Popo were very much miserable by sudden heat - Popo nearly passing out from heat stroke on the first week of moving in and remaining closely attached to the air conditioner in every building._

_On the third week of August, Captain Toad dropped the twins off to their first Orientation Day at Sakurai Junior Academy. After a week of prepping the twins for the big day, Captain was still very hesitant on finally letting them venture on their own. He saw himself as their host parent during their time away from home and constantly fretted all day to their amusement. _

_As the two of them walked up the concrete steps and into their new home for the next year, Nana spotted a few other students on their way in after sending their goodbyes to their friends and families. An excitable girl with messy neon-pink hair and a red floral dress was seen punching her older brother on the arm after giving her blonde Shih Tzu friend a hug goodbye. Another boy, whom they would later know as Link, was bidding his elderly grandmother and little sister goodbye before passing by them on the stairs. Off a few meters away, a shorter, more timid boy was tackled by the taller Kumatora, who proceeded to give the prior a playful noogie. _

_Despite being nearly shoved over to the side by a wrangle of Koopaling siblings on their way in, Nana could feel the rising excitement of the new school year in the air._

* * *

_Mid-afternoon._

_She couldn't shake off the uncomfortable feeling of loneliness once she unlocked the door to her assigned dorm room in the Ruby Dorm Building. Suitcases still in hand, Nana frowned with a _'hmph'_ upon walking by the door to the smaller room in which a paper sign was clumsily taped on. _

_._

_._

"already taken, don't bother

-wendy"

_._

_._

_She finally dropped her bags next to the two empty bunk beds in the larger room, plopping down on the naked twin mattress. She knew she had to get used to the idea of being separated from Popo now that they traveled across the globe to live in the prestigious prepatory school. Even after weeks being among the bustling city, the culture shock of how vastly different this world was compared to her small hometown hasn't worn off yet. Her realization of finally being here, all on her own, had caused her heart to skip a beat. _

_Had she been ready for the adventure as she always had imagined in her head? _

_The brunette quickly sat up straight, a steadfast look rose on her face. No way could she think this way after both her and her brother making the big decision entering such a prestigious school. _

_Her eyes glanced out the window, where the glowing sun was past high noon and the heat radiated from behind the glass. Perhaps a walk outside in the fresh air could clear her thoughts. _

_After all, the day was past its peak temperature and there was a large athletic field on the west side of campus that she had yet to explore._

_About half an hour later, Nana made her way past the track field and was already passing the soccer field. As much as she loved being around her brother, there was something about being able to enjoy being alone outside with nature. Other than the hot artificial grass stinging the soles of her shoes, she clearly was lost in her thoughts. She wasn't distracted enough to run into any obstacles, but enough to pay no mind to her immediate surroundings. _

KA-THUNK!

_A flying baseball buzzed past her and smashed square into the chain link fence next to here. Soon after stumbling back with hand clasping her heart, the ice climber turned around furious, ready to shout out a hasty insult to the offender whose bad aim nearly took her head out. _

_However, words failed to leave her mouth the minute she faced who was responsible. _

_There, off a few yards away stood a baseball capped boy, his tossled onyx hair set apart from his sun kissed face glowing in the afternoon sun. Nana was completely awestruck, her initial anger melting away at the sight. Suddenly, everything felt like slow motion, as if she gazed upon clear sky for the first time. _

_For the first time in a long time, she was speechless._

_Perhaps the boy with such a charming smile and gentle eyes would take her heart and – _

_"Hey idiot! Can't you read the sign?! Don't walk right in the middle of the baseball field!" _

_– pile drive it straight into the dry Astroturf. _

_The once starry-eyed young girl was visibly stunned. _

_Embarrassed. _

_Mortified._

_Along with a string of other words she didn't have time to look up._

_"W-w-well, maybe you should have watched your aim! Dumbass!" _

_Nana managed to spit out before angrily stomping away on the opposite direction. She couldn't comprehend how such a cute guy would be the biggest loudmouth she's seen on campus so far. _

_...alright, he _is_ pretty hot, but still! _

_Damn how looks were deceiving!_

* * *

She furrowed her brow when her mind was brought back at the glaring memory once more. Oh how it infuriated her how this…this _dumb _Ness guy managed to make her _feel_ this way. Which, in turn, drove her more up the wall.

After listlessly spinning on her desk chair, she saw the picture frame atop Paula's desk – particularly the one nestled in between her large textbooks. The photo looked about to be taken one or two years ago, it being of herself and a group of childhood friends. Among two boys was the familiar face of Ness, holding a cheeky grin and rabbit ears behind her bow-tied head.

For whatever reason, the sight of Paula and Ness together made her feel…unpleasant.

Not in an uncomfortable bad way, but in a…not good, jealous way.

_'Oh no.' _

She stood up and paced around the room. These complicated emotions Nana began to feel inside herself was bubbling over which caused her to feel tense and restless. While she longed on becoming more comfortable with new roommates and classmates, she currently had no one to talk to about her feelings, let alone deal with her sporadic moodiness. Sure her brother was a good listener when he wasn't teasing her all the time, but hell would freeze over long before she would even come to him for love advice.

_'Ugh! No way!'_

Nana could already imagined being laughed out of the city once Popo blabbed to everyone at school who she liked.

And yet. She did have one option left.

All her feelings, all her secrets...she _could_ vent out in writing. She realized that one way or another, she had to get everything off her chest. Weighing all the options, the idea of all her secrets safe and tucked away behind a word document seemed the most secure. Nana did keep a tight grip on her personal belongings, and her roommates - or at least Paula - weren't the snooping kind.

No one would know.

No one must know.

As dear as he was, not even her own brother.

Nana glanced at the clock, affirming that she did have an hour or two left before dinner was served. Opening up her pink netbook and pulling up a blank WordPad file, she cracked her knuckles and began typing away.

**.**

**.**

**_"Once upon a time, there lived a girl…"_**

**_._**

**_._**

* * *

Nightfall.

Skyland's royal exhibit was much more open than Tena last remembered. Across the tiled floor and ivory walls, the large room was impressively empty in consideration how the entire marble monolith was created to share Skyland's most prized possession to the world, as well as commemorate the kingdom's legendary heroic swordsman.

Each glass casing held inside a Sacred Casket, an amber treasure chest with thick silvery lining. And in each chest the Three Sacred Treasures, holy weapons used by none other than the Hero Pit. A mere servant angel, only armed with only the Mirror Shield, the Wings of Pegasus, and the Goddess' Arrow of Light, managed to rescue the Goddess Palutena of her imprisonment by the malicious and cruel Medusa, the Deity of Darkness.

Against all odds, the cursed angel of no flight bravely defeated the wicked Medusa; his courage and determination fended off the all-consuming darkness that threatened all life on Earthania alongside the Five Swordsman of old.

Her chest felt a painful squeeze when catching a glimpse of the flat golden nameplate in white engraving,_ 'In remembrance of the Legendary Pit of the Past and his insurmountable heroism and selfless sacrifice. May the Goddess Palutena guide your spirit back home in our time of need.'_

The graceful noblewoman instinctively traced her fingers across the thick glass display and closed her eyes. Breathing deeply, Tena could sense a sort of energy resonating from within the caskets, fading but unwavering. With a sigh and a sad smile, the white-gowned woman stepped back to gaze at the whole display.

_'How I long to return to time when everything was simpler.'_

Lady Tena's reminiscence did not last long, as she felt a loud vibration coming from her phone. She quickly turned her head to check behind her, making sure no one was within hearing range before digging into her bag to pick up her cellphone.

"Hello? Pit? What are you calling at this time of night?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she eyed back at the glass displays again.

_Something_ wasn't right.

"Archery? …Oh Pit, how could I forget after you've reminded me _twice_ today! Yes, I know – I'll be there at the meet-up this Friday…"

Despite her cheerful tone, Lady Tena was _sure_ she felt a shift in spiritual energy reaching beyond the outer realms of the cosmos. She could feel her dread returning.

The growing empty void, which once stayed quiet for so long, had finally called out her name.

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

*insert apology for late update here*

But I did it! And that's all that counts!

I'm also dead! So right now, you a reading the words of a dead author. Who stayed up past 4 AM finishing this godforsaken chapter HOLY COW.

I do sincerely apologize for the delay – the last few weeks, I just got stuck and hung up on this chapter. I feel like I say this every chapter, but it's hard to get the creative juices flowing when you're stuck in a rut. Including juggling two jobs, writing the new chapter was on the low priority for a bit. But I do want to mention that although this chapter was focusing on a different cast of characters, we'll be heading back to Fils-Aime Battle School and Iwata Academy in the next chapter.

Right now, I'm preparing for Sakura-Con this year, so I really wanted to squeeze in another update before getting sucked away on cosplay stress. I won't blather on much in the Author's Note, but just now that I plan on putting this up before going to bed, and I **intend **on coming back to edit the mistakes. So if you see any grammar issues, rest assured, I'll fix them as quickly as possible.

I want to apologize for the back-and-fro flashbacks used in this chapter. When I was storyboarding this months ago, I thought the idea of flashbacks would be interesting, but later on, over half-way through the chapter was when I realized it was quite repetitive and changed the tone several times - hence it taking much longer to finish. Despite it all, I stuck through with it, but learned to reel in on the flashbacks next time.

Also! After reading this chapter, I know what you're thinking! There are a lot of pink-haired girls here!

Well...jokes on you!

In this instance, it would make it more difficult for "certain people" to find Robin's location while she's laying low at Fils-Aime! A logical reason I totally did not make up on the spot!

*cough*

Please stay tuned for the next chapter, **_Recumbentibus_**, coming soon!

**\- A. Mitsuni**

* * *

Reviewer Responses: 

_"__**MoonSpiritGuardian:**__ Eep, Roy x Peach interactions! I'm already squealing inside . Keep up the great work and can't wait for more to unfold :D__" _

Thank you so much, dear friend! Haha, yes I finally came around to revealing one of the ships in this fic. I'll admit, this was one of the first ships I sailed when first coming into the Smash fandom years ago. And now that Roy's back in as DLC, this has fired up my love for this ship! By the way, I saw your update on your fic – I hope to finally sit down and read it after being crazy busy the last few weeks! Hope you stick tight for the next chapter!

* * *

**Index: **

(1) Sakurai Preparatory Battle School, similarly to the Battle Schools all over the city, has a recreational center for its students. Aside from it being a place where students can work-out and train during their free-time, it's also the building where the school's various extracurricular activities and after school classes and tutoring are taken place.

(2) In the Original _Ice Climbers_ video game for the NES, one of the final bosses in the vertical platforming game was a bipedal White Bear.

(3) Kumatora is a playable character in _Mother 3_, from the _Mother/Earthbound _franchise. Tomboyish and brash, she is one of the members in Lucas' party. Similarly to Ness and Lucas, she can fight using psychic abilities (PSI). Link mentioned in this specific instance is Toon Link from _Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker._ In this universe, both Links are simply called "Link" – both named after Link of the Past, Hyrule's legendary swordsman. When in the presence of each other, the younger Link is known as "T. Link".

(4) Captain Toad is a side character who first appeared in _Super Mario Galaxy_ in the _Super Mario Brothers _franchise. Hailed as the leader of the Toad Brigade, he provides help to Mario in the aforementioned game and its following sequel. Eventually spawned a spinoff known as _Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. _In this instance, Captain Toad's occupation as a recruiter requires him to venture off into various places, looking for potential candidates for the city's several Battle Schools and Academies.

(5) Lusa and Anik are non-canon names for the Ice Climber's parents.

(6) The geography of Earthania is vast and diverse, including a multitude of continents, kingdoms, and nations. In this instance, the Ice Climbers live in the Northern Mountain territory, one of the northern subarctic territories under Eagleland's jurisdiction.

(7) Official recruiters for the Nintendo-Land's large Battle School Network (BSN) have the authority to accept or deny potential candidates for scholarship programs offered by various schools. Full-ride scholarships are fully funded by the federal government, and are only reserved for those who display great heroism and bravery.

(8) Paula is a playable character in _Mother 2, _otherwise known as _Earthbound_, from the _Mother/Earthbound_ franchise. Kindhearted, yet capable, she resided in the town of Twoson and later joins Ness' party after he rescued her from a kidnapping. Just like Kumatora, she, too, has PSI and healing abilities.

(9) Wendy O. Koopa is one of the Koopaling siblings from the _Super Mario Brothers_ franchise. She is the only female in the group. Her personality is girlish, outspoken, and bratty, always pushing to impress her father with bad and mischievous deeds.

(10) Elise is a playable character of the _Conquest _and _Revelation _route in _Fire Emblem Fates,_ the latest installment in the _Fire Emblem_ franchise. Her starting class is Troubadour, and she's the youngest child of the Nohrian royal family.

(11) In this instance, Elise is informing the Ice Climbers that visitation time for guys in the girls' dormitories is almost up. Visitation Period, like many other schools, is in the afternoon during the school week and evenings on the weekends. During this time, students may visit the dorms of the opposite gender. Guidelines include doors must remain open under staff supervision.

**EDIT: **Wording. Grammar. More wording.


End file.
